


Chris & Ellie Episodes

by beccaheartschrisevans



Series: The Chris & Ellie Series [1]
Category: American Actor RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2018-07-26 07:04:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 62,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7564756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beccaheartschrisevans/pseuds/beccaheartschrisevans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The individual episodes that make up the story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Episode 1: May 23, 2016

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in May 2016. Chris has just returned home from the Captain America: Civil War promo tour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Note: This episode takes place the same day as Chris, Gwyneth and Robert visited Ryan Wilcox so that was what Chris & Ellie are referencing._

Ellie Spencer stood in front of the sink, her hands encased in yellow rubber dishwashing gloves as she cleaned the dishes she’d used that night for dinner. It wasn’t that she didn’t have a dishwasher–there were actually two in the fancy-schmancy kitchen of the Los Angeles home she shared with her fiance–she just didn’t see the point in using the machine when she was eating alone. _Again_.

Her family and friends–including her beloved, soon-to-be in-laws–had taken turns visiting her over the last several weeks, but now she had the house to herself until her fiance got home from the final leg of the promo tour. When that would be, she wasn’t sure; he was remaining tight lipped about when he would get home.

Sighing, she set the last dish on the dish drying rack–the one she’d brought with her when she’d moved back into his place from her little closet of an apartment–and pulled off the rubber gloves. She turned around and screamed of fright when she saw someone standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the hallway. It took her a second to realize who it was.

“Chris!” she exclaimed, grabbing one of the rubber gloves and throwing it in his direction only to have it land on the floor with a splat half way between them.. “Gah! I hate when you scare me like that!”

“I couldn’t resist,” he replied, chuckling.

She wanted to run across the room and throw herself into his arms, but that would just be rewarding him for scaring her. Appraising him, she noticed the dark circles under his eyes and that his shirt was a bit tighter in the tummy area than it had when he’d left; no doubt thanks to his family in Boston making him anything to eat that he wanted.

Smiling, she finally started towards him, but stopped suddenly as she realized their two loud, noisy dogs had yet to make an appearance. “How did you sneak in here without alerting the dogs?” she asked.

“Ninja training,” he replied, closing the distance between them. “And I wasn’t trying to scare you, honest, you just looked so pretty with the light over the sink casting a beautiful glow on your -”

She cut him off by grabbing his lips and pushing them together to create a duck face.

“It’s hard,” he said, his voice muffled and his words slurred. “But I can still talk.”

She smiled and then let out a whistle that had their two dogs sprinting into the room moments later. The second the dogs spotted him, they started barking loudly and jumping around his feet. She was forced to let go of his lips and take a step back to not be trampled by his mutt, Dodger, and her English Bulldog, Daisy.

“Hey kids,” he said, laughing as he got down on his knees to greet the excited pups. He gave Dodger a hug and then rubbed Daisy’s belly when she rolled onto her back. “Your momma isn’t being very nice to me, Daisy.”

“You could have called to say you were on your way home,” Ellie pointed out. “A text wouldn’t have hurt either.”

“I just wanted to surprise you,” he replied, looking up at her. “Besides, I didn’t know until yesterday afternoon that I was even coming to California today. It was kind of a last minute thing.”

Ellie’s expression softened as she recalled the photos that had been sent to her today. Her fiance had the biggest heart and loved making people smile. Reaching her hand out, she helped him off the floor and then wrapped her arms around his waist, settling her head on his chest. “I’m so happy you’re home.”

“I’m happy to be home,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “Six weeks is a really long time to be gone.”

“Way too long,” she agreed, breathing in the spicy, woodsy scent of him.

They had experienced longer absences, but they hadn’t been engaged let alone dating. She had just been his housekeeper; the one his mom had hired behind his back for his home in LA. She recalled that during her interview, his mom had explained that she wasn’t impressed with Chris or his brother Scott’s inability to clean up after themselves and that she was tired of showing up for _vacation_ to find a messy house.

Chris had been understandably annoyed with his mom’s “underhanded approach”, especially since she’d hired an attractive young woman in her late twenties, but then he’d gotten to know Ellie and there had been a spark. His mom always claimed to have a sixth sense about things like this and he knew she would never let him forget that she had hand picked her only daughter-in-law.

He knew that Ellie was his mom’s dream daughter-in-law, too; mostly because she loved to completely redecorate a room as much as his mom did. Ellie had just moved in with him, permanently, before he left to film Captain America: Civil War and his mom had stayed with her for a couple weeks. He’d come home to find his, rather _their_ , bedroom completely redone. He’d liked what they had done and he’d be the first to admit it looked a lot better than what he’d originally had. But it was only thanks to his brother and Ellie’s uncle that he hadn’t come home to the interior of his house painted with brightly colored accent walls. The only room with that special treatment was the breakfast nook that was a “sunny shade of yellow” as Ellie described it.

“Alright, so what did you and my mom do while she was visiting?” Chris asked Ellie. When she tried to dodge the question by drawing herself up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss, he stole her duck face move and did it to her. “What did you do?”

“We redid the basement,” she replied, her words just as muffled and hard to understand as his had been earlier.

Chris held her lips together for a second longer before dropping his hand and grabbing hers. “Alright, let’s go see what you two did.” He led her down the stairs to the daylight basement, with the dogs following at their heels.

What he found stopped him in his tracks, forcing a bumper car like collision behind him with Ellie and the dogs. What had once been a long, narrow room with his home theater system in the very center and boxes piled up on the far ends, was now a smaller movie room with two walls splitting off, what he assumed, were two smaller rooms.

“They’re retracting walls,” Ellie explained. “My craft room is to the left and your office is on the right.” She slipped past him on the stairs and made her way to the wall that separated her craft room from the rest of the room. She unlatched a couple hooks then grabbed a hidden rod and started walking backwards. As he watched, a small, yet functional craft room was revealed. Then she crossed the room and removed the wall that separated his office from the larger room.

“Ellie, this is fantastic,” he said, noticing that he could easily work from his desk and watch TV as well as watch her working in her craft room. “It’s perfect.”

This time when she came looking for a kiss, he didn’t deny her. Their kiss was filled with six long weeks of being apart; wait, scratch that, _seven_ weeks, as his family and friends had been here and they’d  been too tired to do anything but sleep at night. The last time they’d been together had been a few hours before his red eye flight for the Asian part of press tour and it had been limited to a quickie in the shower.

Filled with need, he picked her up and carried her to the large island-style work table in her craft room. Setting her down on the edge, he quickly found that it was the perfect height for her to sit on and him to stand between her legs with their most needy parts front and center. It made him wonder if it was just a coincidence or a purposely designed that way.

“Your desk is the same height,” she whispered in his ear and then scraped the lobe with her teeth.

“ _Fuck_ ,” he groaned as he grabbed hold of her left knee with one hand, placed his other hand on the small of her back then pulled her body closer to his, letting her feel the hardness hidden in his jeans.

Hungrily, their mouths met again and their kisses grew heated quickly; the time they spent apart enhancing every feeling and need. In no time at all, her hands slipped from around his neck to the buttons of his shirt. His mouth left hers and he kissed down the side of her neck to the exposed skin of her wide-necked sweater.

After undoing the last button of his shirt, she pushed the sleeves down his arms where he finished the job of taking it off. With lust filled eyes, she took in his chiseled chest, brushing her fingers over his many tattoos and loving the way his chest hair felt against her fingers.

“God I’ve missed your touch,” he said, huskily. He breathed in deeply, taking in the fruity smell of her perfume and the natural essence that was her. “And your smell.” He kissed her neck. “And your neck.” He pulled down the front of her shirt, revealing the cleavage of her ample chest. “And, _fuck_ , your breasts.”

She sunk her teeth into her lower lip as he pressed his face into her cleavage, nipping and licking at her sensitive skin. When one of his hands moved down to the hem of her sweatshirt and started pulling it up, she grabbed the other side and helped him, revealing a lacy, black bra.

The sweatshirt fell aside as her self-proclaimed “ass man” of a boyfriend cupped her breasts and licked his lips. His thumbs found her nipples over her bra, making them harder than their already pebbled state. Moving his hands to her back, he undid the four hooks of her bra and then slipped the straps down her arms, freeing her breasts.

His large hands touched her newly exposed skin with care, taking the time to tease her nipples while also letting his fingers wander, sending shivers down her spine. She wrapped her hands around his head, locking her fingers together when his mouth joined the fun.

With heat pooling between her legs and unable to sit still any longer, she dropped her hands from his head down to the waistband of his jeans. She popped the button then slid the zipper down and slipped her hand into them, wrapping her hand around his already hard cock.

“ _Fuck_ ,” he groaned, breathing against her breast. He allowed her to jerk him a couple times before he grabbed her wrist and forced her to let go. “Seven weeks, babe. I want to come _in_ you, not _on_ you.”

“Less talk, more action,” she replied, giving him a heated look.

Smirking, he grabbed the waistband of her yoga pants and pulled them down, forcing her to lay back against the cool table top so she could lift her hips to help. He pulled the pants down her legs and dropped them on the floor. Then he ran his eyes up her body, starting with the sexy black booty shorts she was wearing and up her curvy body to her smiling face.

Reaching up, he gave her left breast a playful squeeze and a little shake, making it jiggle for his pleasure. Then he got back to business and slipped his hands under the waistband of her panties. She raised her hips to help him get them over her ass and then he pulled them down her legs.

He licked his lips as she parted her legs, revealing the pink heat that he’d dreamt about since the quickie in their shower. He wrapped his hands around her knees and pulled her forward so her ass was just on the edge of the table. He felt her body tremor as he slowly moved his hands from her knees up to her thighs and to her apex.

“Chris… _please_ …” he heard her whimper.

She cried out when his hands finally touched the outer edges of her sex and then slipped between her already slick folds. She rocked her hips forward to encourage his movements and he obliged by brushing his thumb against her clit and then circling around it. Her hips bucked off the table top when he did it again.

She let out a breathless whimper when he slid his long fingers through her folds and _finally_ slipped one into her sex. She rocked her hips forward as he fucked her with his digit and then a second.

“ _FUCK_!” she cried out as he swiped her clit with his tongue. Her body shook as he pleasured her with his fingers and tongue. She threw her hand down to grab his hair, temporarily forgetting that he’d shaved off the locks. “Oh god… _Chris…_. Please, just fuck me.”

He gave her clit another swirl with his tongue before he righted himself and pulled her in for a kiss. He felt her hand slip between their bodies and take ahold of his throbbing cock. She guided him to her entrance and he pushed his hips forward, slipping into her sex. Their kisses continued as their bodies rocked together and she clung to him, her fingernails biting into the skin on his shoulders.

She soon found herself being pushed backwards so she was laying on her back with him leaning down over her; the pace of his thrusts speeding up with each one. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held onto him as he pounded in and out of her.

The weeks apart and his earlier teasing had her falling apart first with her body stiffening all the way to her toes as she came. Just as her body began to relax, his tightened above her and she felt the small jerks of his body as he came inside of her.

Breathing heavily, he rested his face against her breasts and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of being enveloped by her. His legs felt a bit rubbery and he hadn’t thought about the post sex positions, but he refused to move until he absolutely had to.

“I think your office chair and desk will be more comfortable,” she said with a laugh a few minutes later.

“I don’t know, I’m pretty comfortable right here,” he said, rubbing his bearded chin against the skin of her breasts.

“We’ll both be comfortable in our nice big comfortable bed,” she replied, running her hand over his buzzed hair.

“Alright,” he said, sighing. He pressed a kiss to her lips and then they parted. He didn’t admit it outloud, but his back twinged a bit as he straightened up.

“You going to need a massage tomorrow?” she asked with a knowing smirk as she rolled her neck one way and then the other. “Should we call Robert?”

“Shut up,” he replied as she hopped off the table. He watched as she bent over to grab his shirt off the floor and he took the opportunity to smack her bare ass playfully.

“Hey!” she exclaimed, standing up quickly. “Two can play that game you know.”

“That’s a game you know I like,” he replied, wiggling his eyebrows at her. “Day or night.”

“Oh I know,” she said smirking as she pressed her body against his. “So here’s what we’re going to do.” She bit her lip and looked up at him. “Are you listening?”

“I’m all ears, babe.”

“I’m going to go upstairs to our room and get in the shower,” she said, moving one of her hands around his waist and settling it on his tight ass. “And you…” she drew her tongue along the tattoo he had on his clavicle. “…you’re going to let the dogs out to go potty.”

He groaned as she pulled her body away suddenly and he watched as she slipped his shirt on then left the basement with an extra sway in her step.

He took a few deep, calming breaths and then gathered their clothes from the floor, knowing he would be sent back down to get them if he went to the bedroom without them. Using the clothes as a cover for his half-aroused cock, he opened the sliding door and let the dogs out to do their business.

Once they returned, he took time to properly lock up the house for the night and then headed up the stairs to the bedroom he and Ellie shared. The dogs made to follow him into the room, but he stopped them in the doorway. “Sorry, kids, not tonight. Mommy and daddy need privacy. Go lay on your beds.” Both dogs gave him sad looks but retreated to the small alcove in the hallway that Ellie had converted into a small reading nook. “Good dogs.”

Closing the bedroom door behind him, Chris tossed their clothes into the hamper in the walk-in-closet and then made his way into the bathroom. The glass surround of the shower was already steamed over as he opened the large door and slipped into the shower behind her.

“I love you,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“I love you, too,” she replied, turning in his arms to kiss him.


	2. Episode 1.5: Hydra Cap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in May 2016. What Chris was doing when he found out about Cap being in Hydra

Forty-eight hours of just a guy, his best girl and their furry kids… it was the peaceful bliss that Chris had imagined it would be during the chaos of the press tour. As much as he loved his family and spending time in Boston, there was no place in the world he’d rather be than by Ellie’s side.

As soon as he had arrived home on Monday, he had sent his parents and Ellie’s parents all texts saying that he had made it home and that he was turning his phone off. It was a routine that he and Ellie had started early in their relationship, he’d turn his phone off and she’d put hers on ‘Do Not Disturb’ while having their immediate families on a list of people to allow calls from in case of emergency.

It almost always meant that they got peace and quiet for at least a day before someone, usually his brother, had an “emergency” that needed their attention; not that it was ever a true emergency. Those calls usually ended with Chris yelling at his brother for interrupting for one stupid thing or another.

True to his nature, it was just before 10 PM on Wednesday when his and Ellie’s bubble bath was interrupted by The Weather Girls singing “It’s Raining Men,” the ringtone Ellie insisted his brother picked himself when he’d given her his phone number.

“Do I have to answer that?” Chris asked with a sigh. “He probably needs beer or something.”

“I don’t think he’d try that one again after you threatened to disembowel him,” Ellie replied with a giggle.

“He deserved that for suggesting I leave you and my nice warm bed to bring him more beer for his party,” Chris said as he grabbed Ellie by the knees and pulled her towards him.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” she said laughing as The Weather Girls continued to sing on repeat.

“If he leaves a voicemail I’ll call him back,” Chris replied leaning in to kiss her.

Instead of getting a kiss, however, he got a face full of water when she splashed him.

Wiping the water from his eyes, he saw her wet, naked body climbing out of the tub and then watched as she dashed into the bedroom to get her phone. By the time she returned, the Weather Girls had stopped singing and there was a text from his brother:

**Ellie, if you’re reading this. Tell my brother he needs to call me right now.**

That text was followed by a second that came in as she was holding the phone.

**This has nothing to do with beer.**

After reading both texts to Chris, Ellie handed him the phone and then climbed back into the tub.

Sighing, Chris called his brother back and greeted him with, “If this is another one of your -”

“They made Cap a undercover Hydra agent,” Scott said, cutting him off. “The internet is going insane.”

“Wait. What?” Chris said. Pulling the phone away from his ear he put it on speaker phone. “What do you mean they made Cap a Hydra agent.”

He and Ellie both listened as Scott explained about the new comic book and the plot twist about Captain America being a Hydra agent from the very beginning.

“That is fucking bullshit!” Ellie exclaimed. “They can’t do that!”

“They did though,” Scott replied.

“I’m not exactly happy with this either, but I’m not sure why you’re calling me,” Chris said to his brother. “I’m part of the MCU, not the comic books.”

“Your agent has been calling mom all day and driving her crazy,” Scott explained. “He and the PR department think you need to comment on it. The only reason I called was because he was threatening to pay you a visit since you aren’t answering your phone.”

“What the hell am I supposed to say?” Chris asked. “I work for Marvel.”

“You’ve talked about becoming a politician someday,” Scott said and Chris knew his brother was grinning at his comment. “Give the people what they want to hear but don’t piss off your bosses.”

“Real helpful,” Chris said rolling his eyes.

“While I have you on the phone, mom wants to know when you plan on turning your phone back on,” Scott said.

“Never,” Chris said at the same time Ellie answered, “Saturday.”

They smiled at each other then Ellie leaned over and kissed him.

“Wait,” Scott said. “I heard water. Are you guys in the pool?”

“Nope,” Ellie replied. “We’re in the bathtub and you should probably hang up now because I’m about to have my wicked way with your brother.”

“You two are disgusting!” Scott exclaimed and hung up.

“I should probably send that tweet before you have your wicked way with me,” Chris said. He kissed her then climbed out of the bathtub. He carried her phone back into the bedroom and plugged it back in. Then he grabbed his tablet and opened up the twitter app.

He stared at the blank tweet for several minutes, trying to think of what to write before finally settling upon:

Satisfied that he pleased the masses, but didn’t wrinkle any feathers with Marvel, he put his tablet down and then headed back to the bathroom where his best girl was waiting to rock his world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story [timeline](https://theycallmebecca.wordpress.com/chris-ellie-series/chris-ellie-timeline/) can be found on my wordpress blog.


	3. Episode 2: The First Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place in March 2013. Explains how Ellie ended up working for Chris and their awkward first encounter.

Middle of March 2013

When her alarm went off at 6:30 in the morning, Ellie Spencer was tempted to throw the clock across the room, but her “to do” list still had a handful of things to check off before nine am. Forcing herself to get up, she fixed herself a cup of coffee in the kitchenette of the small guest cottage that was on the property of the house she was the housekeeper for. She then took a quick shower and got ready for the day.

By seven, she was in the kitchen of the main house looking over her “to do” list. She had taken care of the second floor, where all of the bedrooms were, and the vacuuming the day previous, which left her with just the main floor to deal with since her boss’s mom had told her not to worry about the basement yet.

Thinking of her boss’s mom naturally made her think about her boss: Chris Evans, the owner of the house, who didn’t know that he had a housekeeper as his mom had hired Ellie behind his back.

“My son, and his brother Scott, are horrible at cleaning,” Mrs. Evans, or Lisa as she had insisted Ellie call her, had explained during her interview a couple weeks earlier. “They always have been, despite my many attempts over the years to change them.

“Chris owns the house, but Scott usually ends up staying here instead of his apartment in LA when his brother is in town. When they’re both here, I usually find a week or two to come visit, usually to fill the freezer with meals so they’re not going out to eat every night, but I’m tired of arriving to find a complete disaster of a house.”

For Ellie, being a housekeeper was never in her “what I want to do with my life” plan, but then again, neither was having to quit the job she’d moved from Oregon to Los Angeles for because her former boss was a sexist pig who’d suggested she wear a short skirt and tight shirts to work every day.

Thankfully, she’d been able to crash in her aunt and uncle’s guestroom for a several months while working two jobs: the first as a barista at a locally owned coffee shop and the second at a small used bookstore. It was at the bookstore that she met Lisa, who’d come in for the first time last fall looking for a book to read on her flight back to Boston. They’d spent nearly an hour talking about books and Lisa had left with a bag full.

It had been during Lisa’s third visit, in late February, when she’d come in looking for a book on “housekeeping for dummies” to give her sons that had led to the discussion, with another customer at the bookstore, of her hiring a housekeeper for her son Chris’s home. That conversation had led to her staying in LA for an extra week even though her son had left.

In an ironic twist of fate, Lisa had chosen the coffee shop where Ellie was working to hold the interviews with perspective housekeepers, not knowing that Ellie even worked there. Lisa had spent an entire afternoon meeting with interviewees, but none of them had been what she’d been looking for. Ellie had joined her during her lunch break and had found herself informally interviewing for the position. To her surprise, Lisa had offered her the job on the spot and after Ellie had mentioned that she had been looking for a third job in order to be able to pay for a small studio apartment, Lisa had even thrown in room and board with the job offer, with the stipulation that Ellie would remain on the property while Chris was away filming.

Embarrassingly, Ellie had cried when Lisa told her how much money she’d pay her every month. She was certain that Lisa had increased the initial amount because she knew of Ellie’s work and living situations and because they’d become unlikely friends. Ellie had accepted the job right then and there and then had gone back to her manager of the coffee shop and had verbally given them her two weeks notice.

Her love of books, however, had kept her from quitting her job at the bookstore, which Lisa had been ok with as she too was a lover of books. Ellie had simply explained the situation to the manager of the bookstore who had agreed to let her work a couple days a week instead of full time.

She’d moved into the guest cottage a couple days later and then Lisa had returned to her home in Boston, promising that she would come back and be there when Chris got home so she could explain the situation to him.

That had been two weeks ago and today was the day that she’d be meeting her boss. Lisa had assured her that Chris would do whatever she said, but Ellie couldn’t help but worry about the status of her job once his mom left.

Shaking her head, Ellie turned back to her “to do” list and decided to tackle cleaning the kitchen first, starting with the floor. Lisa wasn’t due to arrive until nine, which left her plenty of time for the floor to dry.

Unbeknownst to Ellie or Lisa, who thought his flight didn’t come in until three in the afternoon, Chris Evans was home and asleep in his own bed after catching a red eye flight from his three week “quiet time” at a rented cabin in Maine.

With filming for Captain America: The Winter Soldier due to start soon, Chris had needed the three weeks of isolation in Maine to prepare himself for the whirlwind that was filming a Marvel movie and everything that surrounded it. He loved the process of making the movies, especially when he got to work with the same people, but there was a lot of pressure involved with so many people to impress that he needed to be mentally prepared for it all.

He was awoken around eight by a text from his mom:

Flight just landed. See you when you get home. Love Mom

He smiled and set the phone down after reading her message. Boy would she be surprised when she got to his house and found him already there.

He set an alarm on his phone for another thirty minutes, knowing it would take her an hour to get her luggage and get to his place from the airport. Then he rolled back over and fell back to sleep.

When his alarm went off, he hit the snooze option and rolled back over. It was ten til nine when he finally forced himself out of bed. With just enough time to start a pot of coffee and get dressed before his mom got home, he headed down stairs wearing what he wore to bed: absolutely nothing.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, a lemony scent reached his nose, making him pause. He couldn’t recall having smelled it before, but he had gotten home shortly after 2 in the morning and his mom had stayed in town after he’d left, maybe she’d purchased one of those wall plugin smelly things.

Shrugging, he continued his way to the kitchen, but came to a halt in the doorway at the sight that greeted him: a woman, at least he assumed it was a woman from the shapely ass framed in a pair of denim shorts, was on her hands and knees, with her back to him. He couldn’t help but watch as she leaned forward and then backwards, doing God only knew to his floor. Her ass wasn’t as full or plump as he normally found attractive, but it still hypnotized him nonetheless.

As she dried the floor of the kitchen with a rag, an odd feeling came over Ellie. She shook it off at first, but her gut kept insisting that she was being watched. Letting go of the towel, she rose to her knees and then pulled the earbuds out of her ears.

Frozen in the doorway, Chris watched as the unknown woman turned her head in his direction. He watched her eyes widen in shock. That’s when he remembered he was buck ass naked.

In all the scenarios that Ellie had imagined meeting her boss, Chris Evans, in, none of them had included seeing his face and his penis at the same time. It didn’t help that the first thing she saw was said penis as it was practically at her eye level. She’d had to force her eyes up to look at his face and she could tell the second he remembered that he was naked.

Chris saw the woman’s eyes drop to his cock, a second time, and grabbed the closest thing he could find, a roll of paper towels, and covered himself. Or at least tried to.

Embarrassed, Ellie adverted her eyes despite her girly parts getting excited over the first penis she’d seen since moving to LA. Then she heard something that sounded like a heavy door closing, looking up she saw Chris eyes widen and knew that she wasn’t hearing things.

Chris glanced at the clock and with a gulp realized that it was nine and that his mother had just arrived. He could hear his mom putting her luggage down and knew he couldn’t escape the kitchen without running into her. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the edge of the first paper towel with one hand and then used the other hand to unroll more paper towels in an attempt to cover his backside.

Of course, in his haste to cover himself, he hadn’t remembered that he only had two hands which is why his mom found him in the doorway with half his ass still exposed.

“Honestly Christopher!” his mother exclaimed. She quickly gathered what had happened after looking into the kitchen and seeing Ellie in the middle of the kitchen on her knees with a rag directly behind her. Grabbing the roll of paper towels out of Chris’ hand, she completed the coverage he had attempted. “Go get dressed. Now!”

“Ma, it’s not what it looks like,” Chris said, quickly. “I have no idea -”

“I thought I told you to go get dressed,” Lisa cut him off, giving him her best glare.

Knowing better than to argue with his mom, Chris quickly left the room and his footsteps were soon heard on the stairs.

“Oh, Ellie,” Lisa said, covering her mouth to keep from laughing at the pale expression on her young friend’s face. “I am so sorry. I don’t know how this happened.”

“It’s ok?” Ellie asked, unsure of how one properly responded to a situation like this.

“He must have caught an earlier flight,” Lisa said, offering a hand up to the young woman who took it. “Or, I suppose he could have lied about what time his flight came in to surprise me.”

“He surprised the hell out of me, I felt myself being watched, turned around and there was a penis at eye level,” Ellie said without thinking and then remembered that Lisa was Chris’s mom. “Oh my God. Lisa, I- ” She stopped talking when Lisa started laughing.

She was still laughing when Chris returned to the kitchen a moment later.

“What’s going on?” he asked, eyeing his mom who was laughing so hard tears were rolling down her cheeks. Then his eyes moved to the unknown woman standing next to her. She was an inch or so shorter than his mom, but closer to himself in age, probably younger. Her dark brown hair was pulled away from her face and she was wearing a black tank top that dipped conservatively low on her ample chest, revealing a hint of cleavage.

“Ellie was just telling me how you two met,” his mom said, finally attempting to control her laughter.

“And how exactly did we meet, Ellie?” Chris asked, giving the woman a pointed look.

“You came into the kitchen without a stitch of clothing on,” Ellie replied, crossing her arms over her chest.. “About ten minutes ago.”

“Which was not at all how I intended for you two to meet,” his mom said with a chuckle.

At his mother’s words, Chris’s eyes left Ellie’s face and went to his mom’s. “What do you mean, intended?” he asked, slowly.

“Chris Evans, meet Ellie Spencer, your new housekeeper,” his mom said with a smile. “Ellie meet my oldest son Chris.”

“Housekeeper?” Chris asked, giving his mom a ‘what?’ look.

“Ellie, we’re going to let you get back to what you were doing and go upstairs and talk,” Lisa said, grabbing Chris’s elbow and steering him from the room.

“I made the bed for you in the guest room you used last time,” Ellie called after them.

“Thank you, dear,” his mom called back.

The ‘keep your mouth shut’ look his mom gave him kept Chris from opening his mouth as he picked up her luggage and started up the stairs. He deposited her luggage in the guestroom she always slept it and then grabbed her elbow, albeit gently, and led her into his room, which he knew was sound proof.

“What the hell did you do, mom?” he demanded after kicking the door closed behind them.

“First of all, don’t take that tone of voice with me,” she said, wagging a finger at him. “Second of all, I’ve been telling you to hire a housekeeper since you bought your first house here in LA and after the state I found this place when I came for the Oscars, I couldn’t take it anymore.”

“So you just hired someone without consulting me? It’s my house, ma!”

“She needed a job and a place to live and you needed a housekeeper.”

“Wait! You mean to tell me that you met a stranger who told you a sob story and you just hired her on the spot?!”

“Of course not!” She gave him a look that told him she was a offended he’d think that. “I’ve known Ellie since last fall. She is the lovely young woman I met at that used bookstore I told you about.”

“Ok, first, I’m sorry for what I suggested, but second, how did all of this end up happening?”

Lisa explained about her other trips to the bookstore and another customer overhearing her rants about his and Scott’s inability to clean up after themselves. She was very specific regarding the fact that Ellie wasn’t involved in the conversation that led to her deciding to find him a housekeeper and that Ellie hadn’t even officially been a candidate, but that she had been perfect for the job.

“Just take a look at the house,” his mom said, gesturing to his bedroom. “I don’t know if you remember the way you left it, but it didn’t look like this.”

Chris surveyed his room and felt his ears redden with embarrassment as he noted that the room was a hell of a lot cleaner than when he’d left for Maine. He hadn’t even noticed the night before, but he supposed that was because when his mom came to visit she cleaned.

“Ma,” he said, apologetically. “I’m sorry for being the worst son ever. You take such good care of us, I didn’t realize that I’d gotten this lazy around here.”

“You’re not the worst son by a long shot,” she replied then leveled him with a look that told him she knew exactly what he was thinking when he grinned. “And neither is your brother, by the way.

“You both live such busy lives, I know you do, but so do I. When I come out here to visit you boys, I want to enjoy my vacation and while that includes filling your freezer with home cooked meals, it doesn’t include doing three months of your laundry.”

Chris smiled sheepishly and said, “So this Ellie girl -”

“She’s a woman,” his mom interrupted.

“Alright, this Ellie woman, you trust her?” he asked.

“I do,” his mom replied. “She moved here last summer from Oregon for a job but quit it because her boss was a pervert. When I met her she was working at the bookstore and apparently at a coffee shop, but I didn’t know that until last month.

“Chris, she was living with her aunt and uncle and she was going to have to pick up a third job in order to afford a studio apartment! The day I hired her, I had interviewed five other housekeepers from different staffing places and I didn’t like any of them.”

“So where is she living now?” he asked though he was certain he already knew the answer.

“The guest cottage,” his mom said confirming his suspicions. “And before you start asking how much she is paid and all of that, she works for me and her money comes from the money you insist on giving me every month.”

“Ma! That money is for you to use,” Chris insisted.

“And this is how I chose to use part of it,” he mom replied. “The rest goes to savings and my yearly Vegas trip with my friends back home.”

“Alright, so Ellie lives and works here,” he said, quickly shifting the topic away from his mom’s trips to Sin City with her best friends who were also divorced women. There were just some things a son did not want to know about his mother and her activities in Vegas were near the top of that list. “What exactly is her job description?”

“She is the housekeeper, she’ll keep the house clean, though I expect you to keep your room and bathroom clean,” she segued, giving him a pointed look before continuing, “She’ll do the grocery shopping and take care of hiring out any maintenance should something come up.

“She’s not necessarily here to cook for you, but if you tell her you’ll be home for dinner, I’m certain she’d make sure there was something to eat. Most importantly, she’ll be at the house while you’re gone. Which is convenient seeing as you’re leaving in a couple weeks for filming.”

“And if this whole arrangement doesn’t work out?” he asked.

“You’ll answer to me,” his mom replied. “And then I might try and convince her to move to Boston, move into your room and be my housekeeper there.”

“That’s low, ma,” Chris said with a frown.

“Then don’t challenge me on this,” she replied. “She still works at the bookstore, by the way, so she won’t be under foot all the time.”

“Alright, we’ll do this your way,” Chris conceded. He wrapped his arms around his mom and kissed the top of her head. “I love you, ma.”

“I love you, too,” she replied.

“I suppose I should go downstairs and actually talk to Ellie,” he said.

“That would be a good idea,” his mom agreed. “And please promise me you won’t go walking around your house naked unless you know for sure she’s not around.”

“Only if you promise to not go hiring more people behind my back,” Chris said with a chuckle. “Though Scott probably wouldn’t mind if you hired a poolboy.”

Lisa rolled her eyes. “You go talk to Ellie,” she said. “I’m going to lie down for a bit, I’ve been up since three this morning trying to get here.”

Chris walked his mom to her the guestroom and then went down the stairs, the scent of coffee growing stronger as he neared the kitchen. He found Ellie sitting in the breakfast nook with a cup of coffee and joined her after grabbing a cup for himself.

“I’m sorry for surprising you this morning,” he said, sitting down across the table from her.

“It’s not your fault,” she replied with a blush on her cheeks. “You didn’t know I was here and I didn’t know you were here.”

“My mom sure got a good laugh over it,” he replied. “Someday, maybe we will too.”

“You’re not going to go all Chandler Bing on me now are you?” she asked and he gave her a confused look. “You know, Friends?”

“Of course, I know who Chandler Bing is,” he replied. “I was just trying to -” he stopped talking when her reference finally clicked, but his memory of the episode was different. “Chandler walked in on Rachel, not the other way around and then Rachel tried to catch him unaware, but the point is, no, I will not actively try to catch you naked.”

“However, should I find myself in a position where you end up naked, I promise I won’t look away. You got an eye full, no, sorry… a couple eye fulls this morning. I think it’s only fair that, if put in a similar situation, I take the same advantage.”

“How un-Captain America of you,” she replied with a laugh. “But if we end up in that situation, I’ll wait a second or two for you to look before I cover myself.”

“I think we’ll get along just fine,” Chris said with a smile. “I’ll probably go for a swim around ten tonight, feel free to leave your blinds open.” Her face paled and he knew he’d crossed the line, especially when his mom’s words about her former boss came back to him. “Shit, Ellie. I’m sorry. I took the joke too far.” He pulled his hands roughly through his hair. “Fuck. If a guy said that to one of my sisters, he would be dead. Please don’t tell my mom about this, she’d murder me.”

“I won’t tell your mom,” Ellie replied, standing up. “But I think I’m going to go lay down for awhile. Your mom said she’d show me how to make some of your favorite dishes while she is here this week, so I’ll take advantage of some downtime.”

Chris watched her leave the kitchen and groaned when he heard the backdoor open and then close. He felt like a fucking idiot. No longer thirsty, he poured the rest of his coffee down the drain and then put his and Ellie’s cups in the dishwasher. Then he headed out to the garage where he kept his gym equipment.


	4. Episode 3: Sicker Than a Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place in June 2013. Chris arrives in LA a few hours before the rest of his family and finds out Ellie is sick with a bug.

**June 29, 2013**

Chris Evans entered his house, shortly before noon, exhausted from his early morning flight. He had planned on going back to Boston after filming the new Cap movie, but then his brother had gotten a project in LA which meant the whole family was coming to California for the Fourth of July instead.

Yawning, he climbed the stairs, hoping that Ellie had already gotten his bed ready for his arrival. He felt a little guilty for giving her just shy of twelve hours notice that he and his family were descending upon the house, but in the week he had been home before leaving for filming, she’d shown she liked to keep a clean house and he figured that wouldn’t have changed while he was gone. If anything, her job had become easier with him out of the house.

Upon entering his room, he saw that his bed was made and he pumped his fist. Then the sound of someone retching in his bathroom reached his ears. Knowing it could only be one person, he crossed the room and knocked on the half open door. “Ellie?”

“Go away,” she whimpered before throwing up again.

Concerned, Chris pushed the door open and entered the room. Ellie was sitting on the floor in front of his toilet, clinging to the cold porcelain. He could tell by the fatigue in her face that this wasn’t a post-drinking puke, but a sick-with-a-stomach-bug puke.

“How long have you been sick?” he asked, grabbing a hand towel. He turned on the faucet and stuck the towel under it, letting it absorb as much water as possible before he wrung it out. He folded the towel a couple times and waited for her to stop puking before he handed the towel to her.

“Thanks,” she replied as she leaned back against the wall and he took the opportunity to flush the toilet as she placed the towel across her forehead. “I started feeling crummy yesterday, I thought I’d feel better today, but I just feel worse.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll have the other rooms ready to go before -”

“You’re not doing anything,” Chris said, cutting her off. “Ellie, you’re sicker than a dog!”

“But the house, your mom hired me to make sure -”

“Knowing you and the fact I’ve been gone, means most of the house is already clean. And I will make sure the beds and everything are made before my mom gets here in a few hours. But first I’m going to take care of you.”

Ellie covered her mouth and barely made it back to the edge of the toilet before puking again.

Leaving the room, Chris made his way down to the basement of his house, the last remaining part that he had yet to move into completely. His entertainment center was hooked up, _obviously_ because he couldn’t watch his Patriots or his Red Sox play ball without it, but the rest of the room was outlined with boxes. Opening the “beer fridge”, he pulled out a cold sports drink and grabbed one of the lemon lime sodas Ellie had no doubt added.

Carrying them back upstairs to his room, Chris went into the bathroom and found Ellie leaning against the wall again. He unscrewed the lid on the sports drink and handed it to her. “You need some electrolytes,” he said.

“Thanks,” she replies, taking a small sip. She put the bottle down and closed her eyes. “Can I stay here for a few minutes until I’m sure I can make it to my room without puking?”

“There is no way I’m letting you go back to the guesthouse this sick,” Chris stated. “You’re staying right where you are until you’re feeling better. If you want to lay down, I’ll carry you to my bed and get you a bucket.”

“Because your mom is coming,” she says with a small smile on her lips.

“No, I would insist on this even if she wasn’t coming,” Chris replied. “Drink some more while I go find a bucket for you in case you do want to lie down.”

“But where will you sleep?” she asked.

“I’ll camp out on the couches with the kiddos,” he replied.

Hearing him leave the room, Ellie opened her eyes and looked down on her once clean shirt and jean shorts. Both of which were now splattered with vomit. Cringing, she pulled the t-shirt over her head and tossed it aside. Slowly she rose to her feet, having to grab the towel bar on the wall to keep herself steady. With one hand she undid the fastenings of her shorts and let the denim fall to the floor as Chris returned with a bucket.

Chris felt his face heat with embarrassment as he struggled to keep his eyes off his nearly naked housekeeper, but her breasts filled out her lime green cotton bra so perfectly and her black and white polka dot panties showed off her natural curves. Forcing himself to look at the wall above her head, he stated the obvious, “I found a bucket.”

“My clothes had puke on them,” she said, attempting to explain the awkward situation they found themselves in. “I didn’t want to get it on your sheets.”

He nodded at the wall and said, “I’ll go get you something to put on.”

Leaving the bathroom, Chris took a minute to compose himself so he could focus on the task at hand. Going into his closet, he grabbed one of his t-shirts and a pair of his drawstring shorts for her to wear. He could hear her puking again as he headed to the bathroom and he kept his eyes straight in front of him as he set the clothes on the counter for her. As he left the room, however, he caught sight of her shapely, silk covered ass in the mirror.

Mentally cursing himself, Chris left his bedroom and went back into the guest bathroom to get a spare toothbrush and mouthwash for her. Then he went back into his room knowing he couldn’t step back into the bathroom until she was properly dressed.

“Ellie?” he called through the door. “I’ve brought you a toothbrush, I’m putting it -”

He stopped talking when she pulled the door open and revealed herself in his t-shirt and shorts. He couldn’t help but notice how well her breasts filled out his shirt. She smiled at him, but then he saw her face pale and her eyes roll back. Acting quickly, he dropped the stuff he was holding and caught her before she hit the ground. Picking her up, he carried her across the room to his California King sized bed. He laid her down on top of the blankets and then pulled them out from under her so he could tuck her in.

Hurrying into the bathroom, he grabbed a clean hand towel and soaked it with water before wringing it out. He grabbed the bucket off the floor and then went back into the bedroom. He sat down alongside of her and pressed the cold towel to her forehead.

It was a minute or so before she came to, looking at him dazedly. “What happened?” she asked.

“You passed out,” he replied. “You scared me for a minute there.”

“Oh,” she said, unable to suppress a yawn.

“You get some sleep,” Chris told her. “I’m leaving a bucket right here.” He grabbed her clammy hand and showed her, by touch, where the bucket was. “If you need anything, you call for me. Don’t get out of this bed unless you absolutely have to.”

“Yes sir,” she replied with a mock salute. “Captain, sir.”

Rolling his eyes, Chris left the room and went about setting up the other rooms for his family’s impending arrival. Every time he went into his room to check on Ellie she was asleep and he only had to empty the bucket once.

It was nearly five in the evening when his family arrived and he could tell his mom knew something was up the moment she walked in the door. Upon learning that Ellie was sick, his mom had taken over. She’d sent his sisters to the grocery store with a list of groceries to buy, something that Ellie hadn’t had time to do, and had declared the upstairs off limits to anyone who wasn’t planning on sleeping.

Chris helped keep his nephews entertained while his baby niece slept in the portable playpen that he kept at his house at all times. He and his nephews spent the evening watching movies and the boys had been ecstatic to find out he was camping out with them for the night, even more so after they had convinced him to pull out the hide-a-bed for the three of them to sleep on.

Worst. Idea. Ever.

Chris couldn’t remember having a worst night sleep. The two little bodies had flopped around all night which led to him sleeping on his stomach to protect his bits from flying limbs.

Which was why, after being woken up by a kick to the side of his face, Chris gave up trying to sleep and went up to the kitchen. He hadn’t expected to find anyone else up at a quarter after five in the morning, but he found his mom cutting up the ingredients for the special chicken noodle soup she’d always made for them when they were sick as kids.

“How’s Ellie?” he asked.

“Much better this morning,” his mom replied. “She is still a little warm, but the fever broke and she hasn’t puked since last night.”

“That’s good,” Chris said as he attempted to stretch a kink out of his back.

“She said something interesting last night when I checked on her before I went to bed,” his mom said, putting down the knife she was cutting vegetables with to look at him. “It was at the highest point of her fever…”

There was something in his mom’s expression that made Chris slightly nervous.

“She told me I should send you upstairs and you could get the whole ‘seeing her naked’ thing out of the way,” his mom said. Her face showed a combination of disappointment and amusement.

“That is all due to our first meeting,” Chris said, quickly. “You were there, you know how awkward that was.”

“Oh, I certainly remember,” his mom said with a laugh. “You tried to cover yourself with a roll of  paper towels instead of grabbing the newspaper that was sitting right next to them.”

Chris flushed slightly and turned to the coffee pot to pour himself a cup. After adding the necessary extras, he took a seat at one of the stools to watch his mom work.

“I was impressed by your actions yesterday,” his mom said. “Ellie told me you took care of her before we got here.”

“I couldn’t just ignore her,” Chris replied. “And I didn’t want you to have to come and do more work.” It was then that he knew he had to tell his mom the other thing that had happened the day before. “Uh, another thing that could have prompted her comment last night was an awkward moment when I came into the bathroom and she was just in her bra and underwear.”

His mom looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“It was a complete accident. I had gone to get a bucket for her so she could have something to puke into if she laid down on my bed to sleep and she had decided to get out of her puke splattered clothes,” he explained. “Not knowing this, I walked back into the bathroom and there she was.”

“Sounds like you need to invest in those doorbells that go off when they sense motion,” his mom teased after a moment.

Chris was saved from further conversation by the sound of little feet stomping up the stairs from the basement. His nephews were talking loudly to each other as they came into the kitchen and his mom shifted from mom-mode to grandma-mode in a flash.

Later that afternoon, Chris found himself at home with his baby niece and Ellie, who was still asleep. His mom had taken his nephews to see a movie and his sisters had gone out for a girls’ afternoon.

Grabbing the baby monitor, Chris went upstairs and knocked on his bedroom door. Hearing a soft ‘come in’, he opened the door and smiled when he saw Ellie sitting up in the bed. “You look like you’re feeling better,” he said, noticing there was more color in her face.

“I feel like I got hit by a truck,” she replied with a tired smile. “Did everyone get here ok?”

“Yes and all the beds were made before they got here,” Chris said as he sat down on the foot of the bed. “My mom left a pot of chicken noodle soup on the stove for you in case you wanted any.”

“I think I want to take a shower first,” she replied.

“You’re welcome to use my bathroom,” Chris told her. “Mom washed your clothes last night.”

“I’ve been dying to try out your soaking tub,” Ellie admitted.

“You’re welcome to use it now and when I’m out of town,” he replied. “My mom and my sisters have a drawer in the bathroom for bubble bath stuff. You’re welcome to use what is there.”

“Thanks,” Ellie said. Taking a deep breath, she swung her legs off the side of the bed and paused a minute before attempting to stand.

“Think you can get to the bathroom by yourself?” Chris asked.

“I’ve got it,” she assured him.

Chris watched as she slowly made her way to the bathroom and then remained in the room until he heard her turn on the water in the bathtub. Leaving the room, he went back downstairs and checked on his niece, smiling when he saw she was still asleep.

Thirty minutes later, Ellie appeared in the kitchen wearing the t-shirt and shorts she’d been wearing when he found her yesterday.

“Ready for some soup?” he asked her.

“I’m going to go change into something else first,” she replied.

She returned from the guesthouse a couple minutes wearing a Boston Red Sox shirt and a pair of baggy sweatpants.

“You’re a Red Sox fan?” Chris said, cocking an eyebrow.

“You sound surprised,” Ellie replied as she took a seat at the kitchen island. “Red Sox Nation is nationwide.”

“So how’d you become a Red Sox fan?” Chris asked as he set a hot bowl of soup in front of her.

“It sort of started with that Jimmy Fallon movie ‘Fever Pitch’, but then a couple years later the Red Sox drafted a guy from my home town,” she replied. She paused in her storytelling to take a sip of her soup. “Mmm… your momma can make a good chicken noodle soup!”

“It has healing properties,” Chris said, seriously. “I’ve been telling her we should sell it in stores.”

“Just put a picture of yourself on it and I’m sure it will sell out in know time,” Ellie replied before taking another sip.

Chris flushed then cleared his throat. “You were telling me how you became a Red Sox fan,” he said, redirecting the conversation.

“Right, so the Red Sox drafted a guy who was between my older sister and I in high school,” she continued. “And there were a handful of other guys from Oregon and the Pacific Northwest in general on the team over the next couple years and I just sort of got hooked.” She took another sip of her soup. “Seriously, Chris, your mom makes the best soup. The best my mom could do was open cans of soup for us and reheat them when we were sick.”

“If you tell mom that when she gets back with the boys she’ll probably give you the recipe,” Chris said with a smile. “So what do you think of our chances this year?”

“I hope they go all way to the World Series,” Ellie replied. “I want that every year, but especially this year. I’m not from Boston, obviously, but with the bombing at the marathon… I think we could all use a little something extra to cheer about.”

“I am from Boston and I don’t think I could have said it better myself,” Chris said with a smile which turned to a frown when they heard his niece begin to cry. “I should go check on her.”

Ellie finished her soup in silence and then loaded her dishes into the dishwasher. Unable to stop herself, she straightened up the kitchen and then headed down to the basement where she could hear Chris cooing at his niece.

“Everything ok?” she asked him.

“We’re good,” Chris said with a nod. “I changed her diaper and I was thinking about watching a movie while I feed her. You want to join me?”

“Sure,” Ellie replied. She sat down on one end of the large, leather couch while Chris took a seat at the other end.

“Before we start the movie, I need to ask you something,” Chris said as he brought the bottle’s nipple to his niece’s lips.

“Alright.”

“Do you remember talking to my mom last night?”

Ellie looked away in thought and tried to remember if she had talked to Chris’s mom or not. She vaguely recalled Lisa coming in to check on her, but she didn’t remember anything else. Though, as she she thought about it longer, she had had a dream that she’d talked to Lisa again later. Had it really been a dream or had it taken place in real life? She turned her eyes back to Chris and she knew by the amused sparkle in his eye that it hadn’t been a dream.

Embarrassed, she covered her face with her arms and then asked, “Did I really tell her to send you upstairs so you could see me naked and get it over with?”

“I’m afraid so,” Chris said, chuckling. “Mom thought it was amusing when she told me this morning.”

“It’s a good thing your mom formed her opinions of me before she offered me this job,” Ellie sighed. “Between walking into the house to find you naked with me on the floor to this… I can only imagine what she must be thinking.”

“My mom likes you,” Chris said, deciding not to tell her that he’d also told his mom about their other awkward situation. Instead, he reached out to squeeze her calf quickly before returning to his baby feeding duty. “And she trusts you. You wouldn’t be here if she didn’t.”

Turning his attention to the TV, Chris hit the play button on the remote and “West Side Story” began. He kept feeding his niece for a bit longer and then burped her. As she drifted off to sleep, he considered putting her back in the playpen, but decided that he just wanted to hold her since he didn’t get to see her very often.

At some point during the movie, Ellie attempted to stretch out her legs, but found it impossible without kicking him. At his encouragement, she placed a throw pillow on his lap and laid her head on it with her feet hanging over the edge of the couch.

When his sisters got home from their afternoon out, they found Chris asleep as well and neither of them could resist taking pictures to tease him with later.


	5. Episode 3.5: Sister Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place in March 2013. Ellie has a video chat with her sisters to tell them about her new job and living situation.

**March 30, 2013**

Ellie sat on the leather sofa in the basement of the main house as she waited for the video call to connect. She hadn’t intended on telling Chris about her biweekly video chats with her three sisters, but as she stared at his big screen TV she was super glad she had, because he had shown her how to do video call on it.

The last video chat she’d had with all three of her sisters had been a couple days before her first meeting with Chris and she hadn’t told them anything about her new job or living situation just in case the whole thing fell through. Even now that everything was official, she was still a bit nervous about telling her sisters.

Eyes focused on the TV screen, Ellie grinned the second her sisters’ faces appeared in their separate boxes. She waved at them and greeted them each by name.

“Syd!” or Sydney was her oldest sister at 30 years of age. She was married to the best brother-in-law a girl could ask for, Garrett, and they lived in Seattle, Washington. They were also the parents to Ellie’s nephew, Noah, who was five years old and her niece, Chloe, who was three years old.

“Izzy!” or Isabelle was Ellie’s second youngest sister and her best friend in the entire world. Just under three years separated 27 (almost 28) year old Ellie and 25 year old Izzy, which meant they had been close. Unlike the other three girls, Izzy had blond hair like their mother’s side of the family while the other three took after their father’s side. LIke Ellie, Izzy also lived in California, but in the Bay Area where she’d recently graduated from law school. Now she and her boyfriend, Eric Montgomery, were both looking for jobs.

“Riley!” was the youngest of the four girls and was constantly updating her Twitter account with a countdown to her 21st Birthday (124 days). Growing up, she’d followed Ellie and Izzy around, doing whatever they told her to, until she got tired of being bossed around. She then became the teenager that tested their parents’ patience the most. Unlike her three older sisters, who’d gone straight from high school to college, she had taken a couple years off school off and therefore was only a sophomore instead of a senior.

Ellie hadn’t realized how lonely being in the main house and guest house had been after Chris and his mom had left until she was listening to her sisters as they shared the latest news and a little bit of gossip. She still had her job at the bookstore, but it still didn’t make up for the fact that she was coming home to an empty house all the time.

She laughed along with her sisters as they each shared amusing stories, trying to out do each other. It had been Sydney’s tale about her daughter’s ballet recital which had ended with a mouse running across the stage followed by the ballet teacher holding a broom, that had brought tears to their eyes.

Brushing tears from her cheeks, Ellie looked at the screen and knew her time had come when she saw Izzy giving her a suspicious look.

“You’ve been awful quiet tonight,” Izzy said. “And where are you? I can tell you’re not at Aunt Deena’s house because of the white wall behind you, I don’t think there is a single white wall in her house”

“Yeah, about that,” Ellie said, slowly. “I got a job.”

“What?”

“Where?”

“When?”

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

Ellie snicked as her sisters’ questions overlapped each other. She was still nervous about telling them, but she knew she had to. They’d find out soon enough.

“I’m still working at the bookstore,” she told them. “But I’m also working as a housekeeper slash housesitter for the son of someone I met at the store.”

She could tell by the look on Sydney’s face that she wasn’t impressed with the new job and she was pretty sure that Riley was painting her fingernails.

Nervous about how to address the big part of the new job, Ellie chewed on her lower lip.

“You’re not telling us something,” the ever observant Izzy stated. “You only chew on your lower lip like that when you’re not sure what to say.” She leaned in closer to her camera. “What aren’t you telling us Sarah Elaine?”

“My boss is Chris Evans,” Ellie said after waiting an extra moment. “And not the British one.”

“Who?” Sydney asked as Izzy and Riley just stared at their computer screens in shock.

“He plays Captain America in the Marvel movies,” Ellie explained to her older sister.

“And he is fucking hot!” Izzy exclaimed. “I don’t even like superhero stuff, but I dragged Eric to the theater to see that first Captain America movie.”

“Is he really that buff in real life?” Riley asked.

Ellie felt her face flush and heard Izzy gasp.

“OH MY GOD! YOU’VE SEEN HIM NAKED!” her sister shouted through the TV.

Ellie felt her face turn an even brighter shade of red, meaning there was no way she could deny that she had in fact seen Chris completely naked.

“It was an accident,” she said when Izzy finally quieted down. “His mom hired me and he got home earlier than she’d expected and she hadn’t warned him that I was there. So there I was, cleaning the kitchen floor and I turn around and there he is, standing completely naked in the doorway to the kitchen.”

“You saw _him_ naked?!” Sydney said in a delayed response. “Sorry, I had to look him up. I think Garrett has some of those movies, I might need to watch them.”

“Yes, she saw him naked,” Riley replied. “But we haven’t asked her the important question yet.”

As Ellie watched, matching smirks appeared on her sisters’ faces and she knew exactly what they wanted to know: just what was he hiding under his clothes.

She’d known who Chris was before even met Lisa, but she hadn’t known that Lisa was Chris’ mom until she’d taken the job. So she had known what she was getting herself into, she’d seen his movie “What’s Your Number?” and there hadn’t been much to imagine after the scene with the towel and the apple, but seeing it on a TV screen with her sister Izzy was nothing like having the real, naked man right in front of her.

It didn’t take much effort for Ellie to recall the scene from the morning she and Chris had met. His hair had been longer than normal and his beard had been shaggier than she’d seen in promotional photographs, but given that he’d just spent two weeks in hibernation, it had made sense. There had been hair on his chest as well, the perfect amount in her opinion.

“WELL?!” Izzy demanded interrupting her thoughts.

Ellie kept them waiting a moment longer as she remembered that _particular_ part of Chris’s anatomy that had been the first point of contact that her eyes had settled upon that morning: the beautiful, err _manly_ , organ in between his thick thighs. She wasn’t an expert, though hardly a novice, when it came to penises, but Chris’s had certainly looked better than those of her ex boyfriends. Better taken care of, that was for sure, especially when it had come to the small tuft of hair at the base.

Then there had been the penis itself. It had been a good length; not too short where you’d be crossing your fingers praying he was a grower not a shower, but not too long where you’d be afraid of it getting longer and damaging your lady parts. She’d only seen him straight on, so she hadn’t been able to tell exactly how thick he was, but he hadn’t been pencil thin, that was for sure. And from where she’d been sitting on the floor, his balls had looked healthy, too.

“SARAH ELAINE!” Riley shouted at the screen.

Ellie smiled and then calmly said, “He’s my boss, so I’ll just keep it simple. There is not a single thing about him to complain about.”

Her sisters laughed and Izzy let out of whistle.

“Fuck, the girls’ on my floor are planning to watch ‘What’s Your Number?’ tomorrow night,” Riley said with a groan. “Now I’m going to have to sit there knowing that my sister knows exactly what he has going on behind that towel!”

“You guys can’t say anything to anyone about this,” Ellie said, seriously. “You three, me, his mom and him are the only ones that know.”

“Wait, how does his mom know?” Sydney asked.

“You know how I mentioned he got home earlier than planned?” Ellie said. “Well he was doing the Full Monty in the kitchen when his mom got to his place. She found us in the kitchen, me still on my knees on one side of the room and Chris trying to cover himself with a roll of paper towels. She sent him upstairs to get dressed and I thought she was going to fire me, but she just laughed!”

She couldn’t help join her sisters as they laughed over the awkward situation.

“So other than being a complete God physically, what’s he like?” Izzy asked her.

“I haven’t gotten to spend much time with him,” Ellie shrugged. “He was here for a week and then he was off to film a new movie.”

“So there were no sparks?” Sydney asked.

“Sparks? You mean romantically?” Ellie replied, staring at her older sister in surprise. “I just met the guy and he is my boss.”

“You took five minutes to answer the question about whether his penis lived up to the rest of his God-like stature,” Riley pointed out with a smug grin.

“It’s called suspense,” Ellie replied. “I had information you wanted and I’ve always loved holding that over your head.” She rolled her eyes. “Besides, Chris is a celebrity. He isn’t going to date, let alone sleep with, his housekeeper, especially not one hand picked by his mom.”

“Ellie, you’re worth more than any celebrity out there,” Sydney said with a smile. “If Chris can’t see that then you don’t need him.”

“And if he can see that then you need to get with him,” Izzy added with a smirk. “And then tell us all about the motion in his ocean!”

“Every single detail,” Riley agreed.

“Oh, is that a thing now?” Sydney asked, pulling the attention of her two youngest sisters. “If so, then we have a lot of catching up to do about Garrett. Let me tell you, my husband can -“

“Oh look at the time!” Izzy exclaimed while Riley covered her ears and loudly sang, “La la la la.”

Sydney winked at Ellie and then said, “Well I have little monsters to put to bed. And the night is still young for you three, go have some fun.”

“Night Syd,” the other three chorused.

Sydney waved and then disappeared from the video chat.

“I should probably finish writing the essay that I have due tomorrow,” Riley said with a frown. “Either of you know anything about music theory?” Ellie and Izzy shook their heads. “I figured as much. Night guys.”

“So, when can I come for a visit?” Izzy asked with a smile once it was just her and Ellie.

“I don’t know if I can have visitors,” Ellie replied. “Especially overnight, freeloading sisters.”

“Well ask your hunky boss and let me know,” Izzy said before redirecting her attention to something off camera. “Alright, Eric just decided he’s hungry, so we’re going to go get food.”

“Later,” Ellie replied. She turned off the video chat and reset the TV to its proper settings. Then she went upstairs and made sure the big house was locked up for the night before retiring to the cozy, studio apartment-like guesthouse she called home.


	6. Episode 4: Happy Birthday Ellie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place in July 2013. Ellie's sister Isabelle comes to LA for Ellie's birthday and it leads to Chris seeing a new side of Ellie.

July 19, 2013

The last three weeks had been the most fun Ellie had experienced while living in Los Angeles and that was all thanks to the Evans family. While she had already known Lisa and met Chris, she hadn’t met his brother or his sisters, but they had all accepted her into their group. In some ways they reminded Ellie of her family back in Oregon and with all of them packed into the house, it didn’t seem that big anymore and she certainly hadn’t found herself lonely.

Best of all, no one else caught the horrible stomach bug that had taken her down for the count.

Chris’s mom, sisters, nephews and niece had returned to Boston the week after the Fourth of July, but he had decided to stay in LA because Scott was staying for work. Because of this, Ellie had found herself watching baseball games in the basement of Chris’s house with an Evans brother on either side of her.

It was during one of those baseball games, just last Sunday, that the topic of birthdays had come up and Ellie had admitted to Chris and Scott that her birthday was that coming Wednesday, July 17. The brothers had been shocked at first then had launched into complaints about her not telling them sooner.

They had just finished telling her off when her cell phone had rung and her younger sister, Isabelle, had inquired about coming down to LA from San Francisco for the weekend to celebrate. Ellie had been hesitant about asking Chris if her sister could stay with her in the guest house, but she had sucked up the courage and he’d given her a quick yes, even offering her use of the other guestroom in the main house if they needed it.

All of that, combined with Chris offering to drive her to the airport to pick up her sister, was how Ellie found herself waiting for her sister, Isabelle, to exit the secure section at the Long Beach Airport.

“Isabelle!” she called, spotting her sister.

The two sisters hurried to each other and hugged.

“I love your hair,” Ellie said, tugging on her sister’s brown locks. “Get tired of being a blonde?”

“Never,” Isabelle smirked as she slipped her arm through Ellie’s. “I was just ready for something different.”

“Do you have any checked bags?” Ellie asked her, noticing a small rolling suitcase at Isabelle’s feet.

“Nope, Eric was so proud of me packing for an entire weekend in one bag,” Isabelle said with a smirk.

“But you don’t plan on going home with just one do you?” Ellie guessed.

“Absolutely not!” Isabelle replied. “By the way, you didn’t have to park and then come inside and get me. I could have found you.”

“I’m going to tell you something, but you have to promise you won’t freak out on me,” Ellie told her sister.

“He brought you didn’t he,” Isabelle said, wide eyed. Ellie nodded. “Did he at least get dressed to leave the house?”

“Izzy!” Ellie exclaimed, playfully slapping her sister’s arm. “I told you that in confidence! You can’t go repeating that… if he finds out I told you, I’m dead.”

“I’ll be quiet,” Isabelle promised, pretending to zip her lips and lock them.

Ellie sent Chris a quick text and then they headed for the pickup and drop off area. Spotting Chris’s dark windowed car, Ellie led her sister to it and then climbed into the front passenger seat while Isabelle got into the backseat.

“Chris, meet my sister Isabelle,” Ellie said making the introductions. “Izzy, meet my boss Chris Evans.”

“Nice to meet you,” Chris said, awkwardly holding his hand over the seat to shake Isabelle’s hand.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Isabelle replied, shaking his hand.

“She knows, doesn’t she,” Chris said as he merged into the traffic lane leaving the airport.

“Who you are? Yes,” Ellie replied, hoping that was the answer he was hoping for. “Only my older sister Sydney didn’t know who you were when I told them I was working for you.”

“That wasn’t what I was referring to and you know it,” Chris said, chancing a glance at her and noticing a red flush. “You told your sisters about our awkward meeting, didn’t you?”

“She didn’t mean to,” Isabelle pipped up from the backseat. “As you can see Ellie has a tell when she isn’t telling the full truth. It’s when she gets bright red when you know you’ve gotten there!”

“Izzy!” Ellie exclaimed, shooting her sister a red faced glare.

“So you do know then,” Chris stated then chuckled.

“That you tried to cover yourself with a roll of paper towels?” Isabelle replied. “Yes and if it makes you feel any better, she wouldn’t give us any details. She just said there was nothing to complain about.”

Chris quirked an eyebrow and stole another glance at Ellie who was now bright red.

“I hate you both right now,” she mumbled causing Chris and Isabelle to laugh.

Scott was waiting for them when they got back to the house and Chris and Ellie were both taken by surprise when Isabelle ran over and gave him a big hug.

“Are we missing something?” Chris asked them.

“I follow Ellie on Instagram,” Scott told him. “She never posts anything.” He shot Ellie a disappointed look. “But her sister posts all the time and we got to chatting one day.”

“So what, you two are friends now?” Ellie asked.

“Pretty much,” Isabelle replied. “I had to make sure you were surrounded by good people and I can tell you are.”

“Plus it also gave us time to plan your birthday adventure,” Scott told her.

“My what now?” Ellie asked.

“You and I are going shopping,” Isabelle told her sister. “And then tonight, Scott and Chris are taking us out for dinner and then we’re going dancing!”

“We are?” Chris and Ellie asked, simultaneously.

“Oh my god,” Scott muttered to Isabelle. “They’re making the same ‘really’ face.”

“Now might be a good time to put my suitcase in my room,” Isabelle stage whispered to him.

“Good idea, you can stay in the guestroom by mine,” Scott replied and he quickly led Isabelle out of the room.

“I am so sorry,” Ellie said to Chris.

“No, I’m sorry,” Chris replied, shaking his head. “My brother can be a bit nosey at times.”

“So is my sister,” Ellie said with a laugh. “One of us should go up there before they start plotting anything else.”

“No nose goes,” Chris said and quickly put his finger on his nose.

Ellie’s jaw dropped and he snickered.

“You are such a cheater,” Ellie told him, rolling her eyes.

“Only because you didn’t think of it first,” Chris said with a shrug. “Good luck with them.”

Shaking her head, Ellie went upstairs and found her sister and Scott in the guestroom Isabelle was staying in.

“So you two were Insta-staking each other via my Instagram account?” she asked, leaning against the doorway.

“Absolutely,” Isabelle replied with a grin. “But I can honestly say, I didn’t start it.”

“It was totally me,” Scott said proudly. “You told us about your sisters and then I was on Instagram and I found you on there, Ellie, and then I found your sister.”

“And I quickly figured out that he was Chris’s brother and that he actually knew you,” Isabelle explained. “We started talking and now we have a super birthday adventure planned for you!”

“You mean the one you two forgot to mention to Chris and myself?” Ellie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“She’s bringing out the big sister pose,” Scott muttered. “You’re on your own.”

He quickly fled the room leaving the two sisters alone.

“You’re not mad are you?” Isabelle asked. “Honestly, we just got to talking about it on your birthday. He said that you’d gone out with some friends for work, but that in the few weeks he’d gotten to know you, he got the impression you hadn’t really explored the LA nightlife.”

“Since when have I ever been part of the nightlife scene?” Ellie asked. “I’m more of a movie night type of girl.”

“I know and that’s why I’m your best friend in addition to being your sister,” Isabelle said with a smile. “Now, we need to go shopping, because I’m pretty sure you have nothing to wear tonight and we both know I didn’t bring anything to wear out just so I would have an excuse to go shopping!”

As per every shopping adventure Ellie had gone on with her sister, Isabelle wanted to see everything before making a decision, while Ellie quickly made a decision. The only saving grace was that, due to their limited finances, the sisters had stuck to an outlet mall rather than going someplace more upscale.

It was after two in the afternoon when they finally returned to the house and carried their shopping bags up to Isabelle’s guestroom. Then, knowing they wouldn’t be eating until nearly eight that night, they went to the kitchen to make themselves a late lunch.

“You seem very comfortable here,” Isabelle remarked as she and Ellie sat outside on the patio eating their sandwiches. “And you seem very at ease with the Evans brothers.”

“I am comfortable here,” Ellie shrugged. “And they’re nice guys.”

“And Chris is even cuter in person than I imagined,” Isabelle said with a smirk. “What do _you_ think?”

“That he is a great guy who is my boss and my friend,” Ellie replied, glaring at her sister. “I know what you’re trying to do, but honestly, Izzy, my life is too messed up right now to be thinking about dating anyone, famous or not.”

“Maybe not, but being a friend is always the best first step,” Isabelle said. “Look at me and Eric. He started out as my study buddy and now we live together.”

A few hours later, Ellie found herself walking through the main house in her bathrobe with her wet hair tucked in a towel. She met Chris in the middle of the stairs.

“Dressed and ready to go, I see,” he teased.

“Of course,” she replied and unintentionally flashed him a little leg as she adjusted her robe..

“You and Isabelle are welcome to use my bathroom to get ready in,” he told her. “Scott can be a bathroom hog at times.”

“Where are you going to get ready?” she asked.

“I just took a shower and I have my outfit picked out, I just have to get dressed, but that will take me like five minutes tops,” he replied. “So while you three are getting beautiful, I’ll be downstairs watching the baseball game.”

“Think they’ll kill me if I decide to just wear jeans and a t-shirt to dinner so I can watch the game?” Ellie asked.

“YES!” Isabelle and Scott shouted from upstairs.

“There you go,” Chris said with a chuckle. “Have fun!”

Going up the stairs, Ellie found Isabelle standing in Scott’s room helping him pick out an outfit for the evening. Judging by the amount of clothing on his bed, he’d obviously gone back to his apartment while she and her sister had been out shopping and brought half his closet back.

“Chris won’t dress up,” Scott told the sisters. “But if you two are dressing to the nines then I will, too.”

Sitting off to the side, Ellie watched the progress of the baseball game on her phone as Scott and Isabelle both got ready. Then the two turned their combined attention on her, only allowing her privacy to put her body hugging black dress on.

“Hello boobies,” Scott cheered when he saw her in the dress for the first time. “I could tell you had them, obviously, but damn girl. Good job.”

“She got all the boobs in the family,” Isabelle said with a tinge of jealousy in her tone.

“Says the one who got all the legs in the family,” Ellie retorted. “You and Sydney got the height while poor little Riley and I didn’t.”

“Yes, but you don’t have to worry about being too tall when standing next to a guy while wearing heels,” Isabelle said as she pulled the teal colored heels that Ellie had purchased out of the box. “I can’t wear heels around Eric, I’m just shorter than him in flats. When I wear heels, I tower over him.”

“It’s probably good for him every now and then,” Scott offered. “Reminds him who the real boss is.”

Ellie shook her head as she chuckled with the other two.

Eventually all three of them ended up in Chris’s large master bathroom with Ellie seated in the middle with her back towards the mirror and looking at the closed bathroom door. She heard Chris come into his room and Scott left the bathroom to talk to his brother.

“We have about ten minutes before we need to go,” Scott reported as he came back in.

“Perfect timing, because Ellie is ready to go,” Isabelle declared.

Standing up, Ellie turned and looked at the mirror while Isabelle and Scott looked on proudly. Logically, she knew the woman in the mirror was herself, but she’d never put on this much makeup before not to mention worn fake eyelashes. Turning her head, she admired the curls that her sister had put in her hair as well.

“What do you think?” her sister asked. “I know it’s more -”

“I love it,” Ellie replied. “I’ll probably never let you do this to my face again, but I love it!”

“Let’s see what Chris thinks,” Scott said he opened the bathroom door and all but pushed Ellie out of the bathroom. “CHRIS!”

“What?” Chris asked, stepping out of his walk in closet as he pulled on a dark denim jean jacket that he had paired with a simple white t-shirt and a pair of khakis. He stopped with his right arm halfway in the sleeve when he caught sight of Ellie standing before him in a body hugging black dress that showed off her ample cleavage. “Wow.”

He wanted to stay more, but his mind was drawing a blank. Other than the underwear situation, he was used to seeing Ellie with her hair pulled back and in casual clothes that didn’t exactly hide her hourglass figure, but it didn’t add to it. This dress, however, hugged her every curve and drew attention to her breasts.

“Is that a good wow?” Ellie asked, feeling slightly self-conscious by the way his eyes were dancing all over her body.

“A very good wow,” Chris said, find his voice, finally.  “You look beautiful, Ellie.”

Feeling other parts of himself agreeing a bit too much for the audience in his bedroom, he forced himself to look at his brother and her sister. Upon seeing that they were dressed up nicely as well, he wondered if he was dressed a little too casually for their night out.

“Are you going to finish putting on your jacket so we can go, Chris?” his brother asked with an amused smirk on his face. “You might need to put some shoes on, too.”

Chris glared at him as he finished putting on his jacket. Going back into his closet, he grabbed a pair of black shoes and put them on.

“She’s just your friend Ellie,” he muttered to himself as he grabbed a pair of sunglasses off his shelf. “It’s just Ellie.” The only problem was that she was no longer just his baseball loving friend, now she was a beautiful woman who loved to watch baseball with him.


	7. Episode 4.5: #22PushupChallenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place August 15, 2016 and was inspired by the #22PushupChallenge video that Chris posted. You can watch the video on Chris's twitter page, [link](https://twitter.com/ChrisEvans/status/765267308168224768).

_August 15, 2016  
Boston, Massachusetts_

Giggling silently as she watched Chris doing his pushups while Dodger tried to help, Ellie kept a tight hold on Daisy's collar to keep the bulldog from joining the party. When he had started, she had been sitting on the floor out of sight holding both dogs' collars, but Dodger had wiggled free of her grasp.

The second he ended the recording, her laughter escaped her lips and she let go of Daisy's collar, letting the dog run over to where Chris had settled himself on the floor to give Dodger more attention.

"Crazy dog," Chris said with a laugh as he grabbed each dog under an arm and pulled them both to him. He kissed their heads and then patted their sides. "Do you think I should record it again?"

"Let's watch it," Ellie replied. "Where's your phone?"

"In my front pocket," he said, giving her a smirk.

She crawled over to him and put her hand in his right pocket, but didn't find his phone. Giving him a knowing look, she put her hand in his other pocket and grabbed his cell phone, letting her hand linger a little longer than necessary.

Turning around, she settled herself between his parted legs and leaned back against his chest as she punched in the security code to his phone. She went to his photos and pulled up the video.

Chris continued to play with the dogs as he and Ellie watched the video, which had them both chuckling due to Dodger's antics.

"You have to post this," Ellie told Chris. "It's too perfect!" Turning, she stroked Dodger's head and said, "My baby is going to be famous!"

Dodger barked happily in response and leaned into her touch.

"I like it when you pet me, too," Chris said as he wrapped his arms around Ellie.

"Like father, like son," Ellie teased as Daisy attempted to crawl into her lap. "Oh, baby girl, we're not ignoring you, promise." She stopped petting Dodger and brought both of her hands to Daisy, giving the sweet bulldog a good rub. "Maybe next time daddy will let you be in his video."

Daisy barked her approval.

"Oh, I just had an idea," Ellie said.

"No," Chris told her, knowing exactly where her mind had gone. "We are not making the dogs' social media accounts."

"You're no fun," Ellie pouted.

"That's not what you said last night," Chris said and then pressed his lips against her neck.

Ellie tilted her head to the side as she eyes closed.

They both jumped and the dogs started barking when they heard the front door bang open. "Honey, I'm- oh! Gross!" Scott's voice said from behind them. "Dude, put a fucking sock on your door!"

"It's my house!" Chris replied turning his torso to look at his brother. "And the door was locked."

Ellie put her hand on Chris's forearm to calm him and looked at Scott. "What did you need, Scott?" she asked.

"I was just coming to tell you that you got tagged by-"

"John, I know," Chris replied. "Ellie told me. I already recorded the video, too. I just have to post it."

"Oh, well, um, good," Scott nodded. "I'll, uh, take the dogs for a walk or something… let you two finish whatever it was you were doing…"

At the word walk, both dogs leapt up and ran to Scott. He grabbed their leashes from the hook by the front door and left.

"So where were we?" Chris asked, turning back to Ellie.

"You're going to post that video and I'm going to go to the bedroom," Ellie told him. She stood up and then held her hands out to help him up. "We'll bang this out real quick."

Chris laughed and shook his head as his fiancee gave him a wink over her shoulder and then left the room with a little extra sass.

Turning his attention to his phone, he tweeted the video, tagging Renner and Mackie. Before going to his and Ellie's room, he toed off his shoes and slid off his socks, leaving them in the middle of the living room floor.


	8. Episode 5: Finding Daisy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in July 2013 and is about how Ellie got Daisy.

July 19, 2013

Chris smiled as he looked around the kitchen table, watching as Ellie, her sister Isabelle and his brother Scott all cackled over the cards they'd played in the round of Cards Against Humanity that he was the Card Czar for. Despite the fun they were all having now, he felt guilty that the paparazzi had ruined their night.

Two hours earlier, the four of them had been eating at a small Italian restaurant outside the normal "celebrity zone", but someone had tipped off his location to the paparazzi. The owner had personally apologized to Chris about the situation and had offered to comp their meal, but Chris had declined the offer and had even left a bigger tip due to how the paparazzi would affect the other diners' meals.

Turning to the other three, Chris had suggested that they continue with their plans while he went home. It had been Ellie who had suggested they all go back to the house and play cards or something instead. Isabelle and Scott hadn't been thrilled with the idea, but they had agreed.

"Earth to Chris?" his brother said, waving his hands in front of Chris's face. "You still playing?"

"Yeah, sorry," Chris replied. Looking back at the cards in front of him, he reread the black prompt card 'Introducing Xtreme Baseball! It's like baseball, but with ________!'

Then he looked at the three white cards he had already flipped over:

'My collection of high-tech sex toys.'

'The swim team, all at once.'

And then the card that had made them start cackling in the first place:

'Genetically engineered super-soldiers.'

The simple shake of his head set off their laughter again and he couldn't help but choose the card that someone had obviously been saving just for him.

"Genetically engineered super-soldiers," he said as he flipped the other two losing cards over.

"YES!" Isabelle shouted as she reached across the table to grab the black prompt card, almost knocking her glass of wine off the table.

"Careful there, drunko." Scott teased her as he rescued the wine glass.

Upon returning to the house, Chris and Ellie had both changed out of the clothes they'd worn to dinner, opting to wear more comfortable clothes; yoga pants, a maroon tank top and a plaid button down for her and sweats and t-shirt for him. Isabelle and Scott, on the other hand, had remained in their nice clothes, with Isabelle simply adding one of Ellie's long sweater jackets over her dress and replacing her heels with a pair of UGGs.

"Alright, my turn," Ellie said as she grabbed a black prompt card from the pile.  "What will always get you laid?"

Chris didn't have to look down at his cards to know which one to play. He quickly found the card and then laid it face down on the table.

Scott and Isabelle quickly played their own cards and then Ellie took on the task of picking the winner.

"What will always gets you laid?" she repeated and then picked up the first white answer card. "Being John Malkovich." She nodded her head slowly and picked up the second card. "Teaching a robot to love." She added a shrug to her nod and then turned over the third card. A grin spread across her face immediately and she shouted, "DEM TITTIES FOR THE WIN!"

Sliding his hand over, Chris pulled the black card over to his small pile while the others laughed again.

There was no question in his mind as to why he'd thought of her the second he'd drawn the 'dem titties' card, especially considering the dress she'd worn to dinner. He'd known she had boobs, it was obvious, but that dress had put them on display and he hadn't _not_ liked it.

"Chris, are you playing or not?" his brother's voice broke into his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," Chris replied. He took a look at the black prompt card 'She's up all night for good fun, I'm up all night for _______.' and selected the best answer from his hand.

"Finding Waldo," Isabelle read aloud a moment later. "Dry heaving. That's disgusting. And lastly, Pictures of boobs." She looked at the cards on the table and then tapped the first one, Finding Waldo.

"That would be mine," Scott said, grabbing the black prompt card. "Better watch out, I'm one card away from kicking your asses at this game!"

They went a couple more rounds before Scott ultimately won the game by playing the "Pumping out a baby every nine months." answer to the prompt "Cancel all my meetings. We've got a situation with _____ that requires my immediate attention."

Leaving the kitchen, they carried their drinks out into the living room and sank down into the overstuffed couches.

"Did you guys have any pets growing up?" Isabelle asked as she sat on the loveseat with Scott.

"No way," Scott replied with a laugh. "Mom had her hands full with us four. There was no way she'd let an animal in the house."

"Really? Because there were four of us and we had dogs, cats and a bunch of other animals too," Ellie replied. "Then again our dad was a Veterinarian."

"Yes, but you were all girls," Chris pointed out with a smile. "Way different than raising boys."

"I don't want to have any girls," Ellie stated with a shake of her head. "Too much drama. I only want to have boys."

"Really? You don't want to have a single girl?" Chris asked, turning to look at her. "Not one?"

"Nope." Ellie shook her head. "Especially after seeing the drama that followed my youngest sister Riley thanks to cell phones and social media."

"Seriously," Isabelle said, shaking her head. "When I was in high school the worst thing was not putting someone in the 'right spot' on your myspace top 8."

"You couldn't pay me to go back to high school," Scott stated. "No fucking way…"

They all murmured their agreement and took sips of their drinks.

"So back to the pet thing," Ellie said, a moment later. "Have you guys ever had pets?"

"It was the first thing I did when I got my own place," Chris replied with a smile. "An American Bulldog named East." His smile faltered a little. "Probably wasn't the best decision because I was so busy, but he was my best friend." His voice tapered off.

"We found out last fall that East had cancer," Scott continued for his brother. "And we had to let him go in January of this year."

"Saying goodbye to a pet is never easy," Ellie said, reaching over and putting her hand on Chris's forearm. "Especially when they're sick."

"It was the hardest decision of my life," Chris admitted. "But I knew it was the right one…" His voice trailed off and he brushed a tear from his face before letting out a forced chuckle. "Wow… I really know how to ruin a night, huh?"

"The night isn't ruined at all," Scott told his brother. "I mean, we all learned that Isabelle has a thing for assless chaps."

"My boyfriend grew up on a cattle ranch," Isabelle stated. "I've seen him in a pair of assless chaps and good god -" She let out a whoosh of breath. "- the only thing better than a cowboy wearing chaps and jeans is him wearing the chaps only."

"Ok, this conversation went weird fast," Ellie said, standing up. She wobbled slightly and Chris reached out to steady her. "Thanks."

"No more wine for you tonight," he told her.

"Yes, sir, captain, sir," she replied with a mock salute. "I'll just carry this stuff to the kitchen."

"I'll help," Isabelle offered. The two sisters quickly gathered their empty wine glasses and bottles and headed to the kitchen.

"I think I'm ready to go to bed," Ellie told her sister after she had hand washed the wine glasses. "You wanna sleep in the guest house with me?"

"Sure," Isabelle replied. "I'll go get my stuff. Should I shower upstairs or in your room?"

"It'll have to be in her room," Chris said as he came into the kitchen. "Scott just ran upstairs to take a shower." He covered his mouth as he yawned. "I just wanted to tell you I was heading upstairs and that I locked the front door."

"Alright, thanks," Ellie replied. "I'll lock the backdoor when we leave."

Chris nodded and then left the room.

"I'll go get my stuff," Isabelle told her sister.

Ellie finished cleaning up the kitchen while she waited and then, when Isabelle returned, led her sister out to the guest house.

"It's small," Isabelle said as she took in the studio-like room. "But I guess you spend most of your time in the main house."

"Exactly." Ellie nodded. "I'll let you shower first and then I'll take one."

Forty minutes later, the sisters were laying side-by-side in Ellie's bed.

"Did you have fun tonight?" Isabelle asked.

"Yes," Ellie assured her. "I'm actually kind of glad we didn't go dancing though. Those heels were already killing my feet when we got home. And I could barely breathe in that dress…"

A wicked grin spread across Isabelle's face and she said, "Chris liked watching you breathe in that dress."

Ellie rolled her eyes.

"I'm seriously, El!" Isabelle insisted. "He couldn't take his eyes off of you during dinner! And don't get me started on his reaction in his bedroom! The guy froze in the process of putting on his jacket!"

"We're just friends," Ellie told her sister. "He's used to seeing me in t-shirts and jean shorts. Of course he was surprised."

"He liked what he saw," Isabelle insisted. "I wish I had thought to take a picture of it."

"You've had too much to drink," Ellie told her sister. "We both have. We should go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."

"Spoil sport," Isabelle muttered as she settled into her pillow. "I know what I saw though, you caught Chris's attention."

Ellie ignored her sister and closed her eyes, effectively putting an end to their discussion.

The next morning, the sisters woke up shortly after nine and got dressed to go to the beach. They hit up the kitchen in the main house to pack the cooler with the food and drinks Ellie had purchased for their day at the beach.

They were just closing the lid of the cooler when Chris came into the room.

"Morning," he greeted sleepily. He took in their appearances; each sister was wearing a pair of cut off jean shorts and a tank top with colorful straps showing on their shoulders. "Off to the beach?"

"Yup," Ellie replied. "I made a pot of coffee and there is stuff for sandwiches in the fridge if you get hungry."

"Thanks, you're the best," Chris told her.

Ellie smiled at Chris and ignored the nudge that Isabelle gave her.

"Well, we are off," she said. "We will likely be gone most of the day. I was thinking we'd do hamburgers or something here tonight."

"Got it," Chris said with a nod. "Have fun."

The sisters carried the small cooler out to Ellie's car and then headed south to the beach community their aunt and uncle lived in. They parked their car in the driveway of their relatives' house and then walked the couple blocks to the beach.

Given that it was a Saturday in the middle of July, the beach was busy, but it didn't take them long to find the beach volleyball court that their aunt, uncle and their friends had situated themselves by. After many hellos, the sisters put their stuff down and laid out in the sun, soaking in the rays for a bit before being convinced to join a beach volleyball game.

They hung out at the beach until the early afternoon before they said their goodbyes and made their way back to the car. Instead of heading back to Chris's house immediately, they ventured into the Venice Beach area and spent a couple hours checking out the different vendors.

It was after six in the evening when they finally got back to the house. Ellie went to her guest house to shower while Isabelle went upstairs to shower in the guest bathroom.

After showering and getting dressed, Ellie went back into the main house to get dinner ready, but stopped when she saw Chris standing in front of the barbeque flipping the burgers over.

"Scott and I are taking care of dinner," he told her. "You've been feeding us all summer."

"Thanks," Ellie replied with a smile. She went into the house and cringed slightly when she saw the state of her kitchen.

Scott caught her expression from the other side of the large kitchen island and said, "We'll clean up, promise." He then walked over to the fridge and grabbed out a bottle of beer. "Drink this. It will take the edge off the fact that we've destroyed your kitchen."

Dinner was just about ready when Isabelle arrived in the kitchen and took the beer Scott offered her. The sisters then made their way outside and sat down at the outdoor table to wait for the guys to bring dinner to the table.

Ten minutes later, the four of them were eating and Ellie was impressed with the brothers' cooking abilities.

"I might let you two cook for me more often," she told him.

"Please don't," Scott replied. "Our cooking skills are very limited."

"All the more reason for you to practice," Ellie said with a smile.

After they ate, Ellie and Isabelle helped the brothers clean up the kitchen and then all four of them retired to the basement to watch a movie. The girls took their seats on one of the couches while the two brothers argued over what movie to watch. It took them nearly ten minutes to agree on 'Stepbrothers'.

The four of them laughed along with the movie with one or two of them occasionally quoting a scene along with the characters on the TV.

It was nearly midnight when the movie ended and they all retired to their own rooms to go to sleep.

The next morning, Ellie got up earlier than normal and made breakfast for herself and Isabelle, knowing her sister had to catch an early flight back to San Francisco.

  
When Isabelle arrived in the kitchen, the sisters ate quickly and then said goodbye when the Uber Isabelle had ordered got to the house.

Ellie was in the kitchen cleaning when Chris came in about thirty minutes later.

"Isabelle get off ok?" he asked her.

"Yup." Ellie nodded with a sad smile. "Is it weird that I already miss her?"

"Nah, you guys are obviously close," Chris stated. "I miss Scott when he isn't around."

"It's because you love me," Scott announced as he came into the room. "Do I smell bacon?"

"Isabelle and I ate it," Ellie replied. "But you're welcome to make yourself some. There is more in the fridge."

Scott frowned as he looked at the fridge. "I think I'll just stop at Starbucks on my way home," he said. He made his way around the island and gave Ellie a hug. "This weekend was fun. I love your sister."

"I'm pretty sure she loves you, too," Ellie said with a laugh as she hugged him back. "Thanks for helping me celebrate my birthday."

"Just think of how epic we could have made it if you hadn't waited until last weekend to tell us," Scott stated as they ended their hug. "Ok, I need to go home, do some laundry and then learn my lines for tomorrow. See you kids later."

A couple minutes later, they felt the house rattle as Scott slammed the door closed as he left.

Ellie shook her head while Chris rolled his eyes.

"Speaking of your birthday," Chris said, a moment later. "I haven't gotten you anything, what do you want?"

Ellie froze in the process of cleaning the counter and turned to look at him. "Chris, you don't have to buy me anything for my birthday," she said. "You and your mom have done more for me in the last six months than I can thank you guys for."

"That doesn't mean you don't deserve a birthday present," Chris countered. " _Everyone_ deserves birthday presents."

"You're not going to drop this are you?" Ellie sighed.

"Nope," Chris replied. "And I'm sure you've learned by now that I can be pretty stubborn."

"Fine," Ellie said. "For my birthday, I'd like you to consider allowing me to get a dog."

"You want a dog?" Chris asked, surprised.

"Yeah, it's a bit lonely here when I'm by myself," Ellie replied. "This house is really big when you're alone."

"It is," Chris said with a nod. "Alright, I'll give you one better. Not only will I give you permission to get a dog, but we'll go look for one today!"

"Wait, what?" Ellie looked at Chris in surprise. "Look for a dog today?" He nodded. "Are you sure, though? I don't need one _today_ , just before you head back east or to film."

As the word 'east' left her mouth, her mind instantly went to Chris's late dog. "Chris, are you sure you're ready for this?" she asked.

"I'm sure, Ellie," Chris stated. "Besides, I'm not ready to have another dog, but that's the beauty of the dog being yours. I get to play with it and hang out with it, but you're the one that has to scoop the poop out of the backyard."

Ellie shook her head and laughed.

"So, are you game for going to look for a dog?" Chris asked.

"Sure, why not," Ellie replied. "I don't have anything else to do today."

"Awesome!" Chris exclaimed. "Ok, I'm going to go upstairs and grab some shoes and then I'll be ready to go."

"Sounds good," Ellie replied.

Chris tossed her a smile and then raced out of the room, sliding across the hardwood floor in his socks.

Seconds later there was a thud in hallway and he called out, "I'm good."

Ellie shook her head and made her way out to the guest house to grab her purse.

An hour later, Chris pulled into the parking lot of a no kill shelter he had volunteered at over the years. Leading Ellie inside, he was greeted by name by the owner of the establishment who personally volunteered to take them around the place.

The owner took a few minutes to get an idea of the type of dog Ellie was looking for. Then she took Ellie and Chris out to meet a few dogs that she thought best matched what Ellie was looking for.

The first couple dogs the owner introduced them to didn't do anything for Ellie or Chris. They were both sweet dogs, but the first one didn't like loud noises and the second one was timid around Chris.

As they were making their way to the next dog, Ellie spotted a brown and white bulldog peeking at them through a "doggie window" in one of the doggie playrooms. Kneeling down, she smiled at the dog and the dog smiled back with its tongue hanging to the side.

"Can we meet that one?" Chris asked the owner.

"Absolutely," the owner replied. She let them into the playroom and the bulldog raced over to them.

Kneeling down, Ellie let the dog smell her hand and the dog melted into her. Giggling, she looked up at Chris. "What do you think?" she asked.

Chris knelt down next to her and the bulldog shifted its eyes to him. It studied Chris for a moment before coming over to investigate him. It sniffed his hand and then tilted its head to the side to get a scratch from Chris.

"I think this is the one," Chris said.

"Well then, let me officially introduce you to Daisy, she is an English Bulldog," the owner said with a smile.

"Daisy like Daisy Duck," Chris said with a smile. "Perfect."

"Absolutely perfect," Ellie agreed. "We'll take her." Turning her attention to Daisy she asked, "Do you want to come home with us, Daisy girl?"

Daisy gave a happy bark and gave her a tongue out smile.


	9. Episode 5.5: And Dodger Makes 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in October 2015 and is about how Dodger joined the family!

October 21, 2015

The Oregon Ducks fight song filled the quiet bedroom with noise waking both Ellie and Daisy up. The dog snorted her displeasure of being woken up while Ellie reached over and grabbed the phone from her bedside table.

"Hello?" she answered, sleepily.

"Hey babe," Chris's voice echoed through her phone. "Did I wake you?"

Ellie squinted at the clock on his side of the bed and then cursed into the phone. "Chris, it's only 5 in the morning here," she grumbled.

"Ah, shit, babe," Chris groaned. "I'm sorry! You want to call me back later?"

"No, it's fine," she replied, sitting up in their bed and yawning. "What's up?"

"You know how we've been talking about getting a second dog?" Chris asked.

"Uh huh," Ellie replied, stealing a glance at Daisy who'd happily taken over Chris's side of the bed during his absence.

"I think I found him," Chris told her. "I'm going to send you a photo."

A second later there was a ding on her phone and Ellie put Chris on speaker phone before going to look at the photo.

"Oh Chris," she said with a smile. "He's beautiful."

"He's a mutt, the shelter isn't sure what all he is," Chris told her. "He's just over a year old and is the sweetest."

"Do you think he'd get along with Daisy?" she asked.

"He gets along great with the other dogs here," Christ replied. "But the shelter director recommended that we bring Daisy out here to meet him."

"That probably would be a good idea," Ellie agreed. "What's your plan?"

"Well, this is the last week of filming, so I thought the two of you could fly out here on Friday," Chris explained. "We can spend the weekend together at my place here and introduce the dogs. If all goes great then the four of us can head back to LA on Sunday."

"Sounds perfect to me," Ellie said with a smile. "I've really missed you."

"I've missed you, too," Chris sighed. "I'm going to try harder next year to convince you to come with me to Georgia when we film the next Avengers movie."

Ellie smiled as her brain said it wouldn't take much convincing, but her mouth said, "I can't wait to see you try."

Chris chuckled and then groaned as someone on his end of the phone called his name. "Crap, I've got to get back to set," he said. "Sorry for waking you up, babe."

"Don't worry about it," Ellie replied. "Daisy and I will see you on Friday."

"I can't wait," Chris stated. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied and then made a kissy sound into the phone.

"If I wasn't surrounded by like 50 other people, I would totally do that, too," Chris told her. "But I'm already getting funny looks."

"Chicken," Ellie teased. "Get back to work so you can afford my first class ticket for this weekend."

"See you Friday," Chris said with a chuckle before hanging up.

Putting her phone back down on her bedside table, Ellie rolled over and looked at Daisy. "This time next week you might have a brother," she told the dog.

Two days later, Ellie walked through the security zone of the airport in Savannah, GA and searched the sea of people for Chris. Spotting someone leaning against the wall with their ball cap wearing head tilted down, she quickly made her way over and smiled when she saw him holding a bouquet of brightly colored daisies.

Chris chanced a glance up as he heard footsteps nearing him and a smile stretched across his face when he saw Ellie standing in front of him. He quickly closed the distance between the two of them and gave her a kiss on the lips, not caring who might be watching. It had been over a month since he'd seen his girlfriend last.

"God, I've missed you," he said as he held her close to him.

"I've missed you, too," she replied, nuzzling her face into his neck and breathing in the spicy, woodsy scent that lingered on him. "You smell really good."

Chris chuckled and placed a kiss on her neck. "Should we go get our girl?" he asked.

"Yes, we should," Ellie replied, remembering they were in a very public airport. "This is the longest flight she has ever been on."

Thirty minutes later they were reunited with Daisy and the dog nearly tackled Chris when she saw him. She greeted him with slobbery kisses and happy barks, knocking his ball cap off his head in the process.

Their actions caught the attention of others in the baggage claim area and a couple kids came over to say hello to Captain America. Ellie pulled Daisy off to the side while Chris greeted the kids and signed a couple things for them. He talked to them for a few minutes before leading them over to Ellie. "They wanted to meet Daisy," he told her. Then he knelt down and patted Daisy on the head. "This is my dog Daisy," he said to the kids. "Let her smell your hand and she might let you pet her."

The kids held their hands out and Daisy sniffed them. Then she tilted her head to the side and gave them a smile with her tongue sticking out from one side of her mouth.

"She likes you guys," Chris said with a chuckle. "And she wants you to pet her neck." He rubbed Daisy's neck and the dog closed her eyes. The kids copied him and only stopped when their parents came over to get them.

Before anyone else could sidetrack them, Chris and Ellie made their way out to the parking garage where his rental car was waiting. They loaded Daisy into the backseat and then climbed into the front seat.

"Damn it is hot," Ellie muttered as she flipped down the sun visor to survey the damage the humidity had done to her hair in the short walk to the car. Groaning at the extra frizzy state, she grabbed a hair tie out of her purse and wrestled her hair into a messy bun while Chris chuckled from the other side of the car. "Oh shut up."

Instead of driving directly to the small condo he had rented for his stay in Savannah, Chris drove them out to the shelter where Dodger was, having already made arrangements with the shelter's director to bring Daisy out for her first meeting with Dodger. Upon arriving there, he sent Ellie inside first to meet Dodger on her own before he brought Daisy in.

Going inside, Ellie introduced herself to the receptionist, saying she had an appointment with the director. She waited a couple minutes for the director to arrive and then followed her into one of the doggy play rooms where the happy dog Chris had sent her a picture of was sitting with a volunteer.

The moment Dodger laid eyes on Ellie he gave her a smile and trotted over to her. He didn't even wait for her to hold out her hand for him to smell, he just melted against her, like he knew they belonged together.

Nodding at the director, Ellie sat down and gave Dodger a good rub as the director left the room to get Chris and Daisy from the lobby.

A couple minutes later, the door opened and Chris came in with Daisy on her leash. Kneeling down, he let her off the leash and then waited to see what she would do.

Slowly, Daisy made her way over to where Ellie sat with Dodger.

"What do you think, Daisy?" Ellie asked her dog.

Daisy and Dodger began to sniff each other out, both using Ellie as a safety net from the other dog.

Quickly enough, however, Dodger gave a playful bark and jumped at Daisy in a playful manner. Daisy looked at the younger dog as if she was trying to decide what to do.

"It's ok, Daisy," Chris told her. "You can play with him."

As if that was what she was waiting for, Daisy gave a playful bark in return.

Ellie looked up and smiled at Chris. Their small family of three had just become a family of four.


	10. Episode 6: Full House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in August 2013. Guest appearances in this chapter include: Scott, Isabelle, Riley (Ellie's youngest sister) and Eric (Isabelle's boyfriend).

August 3, 2013

Chris Evans awoke with a start after the side of his face received a slobbery, wet lick. Groaning, he opened one eye and could sort of make out Daisy's stout figure standing next to him on his bed. For a brief, sleepy second he wondered how she got into his room, but then he recalled that he had dog sat her for Ellie the night before and had felt guilty about locking the dog in the kennel when it was time to go to bed. The dog gave a pitiful whimper and Chris realized she probably needed to go out.

As he rolled out of bed, Chris glanced at the clock on his bedside table and cursed under his breath upon seeing that it was only 5:30 in the morning. The dog gave another pitiful whine as he rose to his feet. "Alright, alright, let's go," he muttered.

Walking across the room to the bedroom door, he grabbed his robe and put it on before leaving the room with Daisy trailing behind him. They made their way downstairs and he wasn't surprised to find the rest of the house dark and quiet. After all, when he and Daisy had gone to bed around one, the girls still hadn't gotten back to the house yet.

Opening the backdoor, he followed Daisy outside and waited on the upper patio for her while she went down to the grassy area to do her business. When she was finished, she trotted back up the stairs and tilted her head to look up at him and then looked at the roof that belong to the guest house she and Ellie lived in.

"I don't know if your momma is in there," Chris told the dog. "She might be sleeping with one of your aunties." He led her back into the house and she followed him as he went back upstairs to his room.

Like the night before, she didn't even glance at the dog bed he'd brought upstairs for her as she went to the side of his bed. She then turned her head and looked at him to say 'I'm too short, lift me up'.

Shaking his head, Chris picked the dog up and set her on his bed. He waited for her make herself comfortable on the far side of the bed before he took off his robe and joined her.

When his alarm clock went off at eight thirty, Chris grumbled and turned it off. He wasn't ready to get up, but he knew he had to. Sitting up, he stretched and then looked across the bed at Daisy, seeing that she was still snoring away happily.

Leaving her be, Chris went into the bathroom to take a quick shower and then put on a pair of sweats and a plain t-shirt. He then convinced Daisy to get up with the promise of getting her breakfast and led her out of the room.

This time when he reached the main floor, he was surprised to find it dark and quiet. Ellie was typically up and moving by eight every morning, sometimes earlier, and it was after nine now.

"Where is your mom, Daisy?" Chris asked as he put food in her bowl. "I hope she and her sisters didn't get too crazy last night."

Shaking his head, Chris started a pot of coffee then looked in the fridge for something to eat for breakfast. He contemplated making eggs for the sisters, but since he wasn't sure when they'd actually get up, he decided against it. Instead, he settled on a bowl of cereal, hoping Ellie would let him steal some of whatever she made later.

While he ate, Daisy made her way over and flopped down at his feet. She had just started snoring when they heard a door open and close upstairs. Curious, the dog scrambled to her feet and ran from the room, her nails clicking on the hardwood floors.

A minute later, she returned with an exhausted looking Ellie following her.

Hiding his amusement at her disheveled appearance, Chris got off his stool and poured her a cup of coffee. He placed it in front of her and then grabbed her flavored creamer and the half & 'half out of the fridge.

"Rough night?" he asked as he watched her doctor her coffee with her eyes only partially open.

"Not in the way you're thinking," she replied. "I slept in Riley's room last night because she drank so much." She paused to yawn. "That bitch still flops around in her sleep like she did when she was five." She slowly bent her neck to the right then the left and they heard a series of popping noises. "I am never doing that again. Ever."

Chris chuckled because he knew exactly what she meant. Knowing what she needed, he opened the cabinet where he kept pain reliever and grabbed the bottle out. He then grabbed a cold bottle of water from the fridge and put them down in front of Ellie.

"Thanks," she said, slightly more awake than before. She opened the bottle and poured a couple pills into her hand. She then unscrewed the lid on the bottle of water and took a sip.

"What time did you guys get home?"

"Uh, two ish?" Ellie shrugged. "I was ready to go earlier, but the other three were enjoying their free drinks."

"Other _three_? Who was the fourth person?" he asked.

"Your brother, of course," Ellie said, shaking her head. "Apparently he and Isabelle text all the time now. He met us at the second bar we went to and then took us to a third bar, his favorite bar in LA, apparently."

Knowing which bar she was talking about, Chris chuckled. "And how'd you like it?"

"I got lots of compliments on my makeup and I got fondled a surprising number of times for being at a gay bar," Ellie stated.

Before Chris had a chance to comment, Isabelle entered the kitchen looking like death. Instead of giving her coffee, Chris opened the fridge and pulled out a sports drink. He set it down in front of her while Ellie slid the bottle of pain reliever in her direction.

"Thanks," Isabelle muttered.

"You two want fried eggs or something?" he asked.

"That sounds good," Ellie said. "I'll make Riley -"

"You'll make Riley, what?" the youngest sister asked as she came in the room.

Chris had to bite back his laughter at the fact that she looked like she hadn't had anything to drink the night before.

"Chris is making fried eggs," Ellie told her. "You want one or two?"

"I'll take two," Riley replied as she took the seat next to Isabelle at the island. "You didn't tell me he could cook, El."

"You didn't ask, Ry," Ellie replied sweetly while shooting a glare at her younger sister while Chris was busy getting the eggs out of the fridge. Ever since her younger sister had arrived the afternoon before, she'd been making offhand comments and/or being extra flirty with Chris for no apparent reason.

"Stop," Isabelle said putting her hands out in the direction of her sisters. "My head hurts too bad for your stupidness." She looked at Riley from the corner of her eye. "You drank more than me last night, how the fuck are you so peachy keen?"

"Because, unlike you, I actually drank all the water that Ellie forced into my hands last night," Riley stated. "I'm also 21 and I've got great genes."

Chris listened to the sisters' banter as he fried eggs for them and himself. They made him think of his siblings and the way they all interacted with each other.

"Have you figured out what we're doing tonight?" he asked after he finished cooking the eggs and they were eating.

"I vote for some place that doesn't require me to wear heels or a dress," Ellie replied. "It takes too much effort."

"But you looked hot last night," Riley replied. "Didn't she, Chris?"

Saved by the fact that he was chewing, Chris simply nodded his head. All three sisters had looked good last night though his eyes had stayed a bit longer on Ellie.

Riley and Isabelle had arrived shortly after lunch, the day before, and they'd dropped their luggage off at the house before the sisters had run out to do mani pedis and shop. When they'd gotten back, he'd been engrossed in a baseball game and had felt bad for Ellie when her sisters had hauled her upstairs to primp.

When all three sisters had been ready to go, they had come down to the basement to have him take a couple photos of them. Ellie had somehow managed to keep her sisters from going overboard with her makeup and her hair had been pulled back in a high ponytail. The simple look worked perfectly with the black dress and hot pink heels she had been wearing. Isabelle on the other hand had gone for a sexy look in a red clingy dress and black high heels. Riley had gone for a look that was between her sisters' in style and had been wearing an 'It's My 21st Birthday' sash.

Swallowing his bite of eggs, Chris found his voice and said, "You three all looked hot last night. I'm glad that Scott met up with you and you didn't have to call me for back up."

"You're still coming out with us tonight, right?" Riley asked.

"Depends on where you go," Chris told her. "We don't want another repeat of what happened last time." Referring to the Paparazzi-shorted night out for Ellie's birthday.

"I didn't think it was too bad." Ellie gave him a smile as she shrugged. "We all had fun in the end."

"Scott said there was a bar you liked to go to," Isabelle said. She still looked a little green to Chris, but she had perked up a bit since her arrival in the kitchen. "Maybe we should go there."

"It's a casual place," Chris said. "If you three dress to the nines, we'd get funny looks." He chuckled when Ellie pumped her fist at not having to dress up. "They have good beers on tap and you can actually reserve a private room that has a pool table, dart boards and even a karaoke machine."

"Do you think it's still available for tonight?" Ellie asked.

"That's the best part, they only do day of reservations," Chris replied. "I'll send the owner a text and find out if it's still available for tonight. It'll help if we tell him we'll eat dinner there, too."

"If they serve greasy hamburgers and french fries I am so down with that," Isabelle stated.

"Me too!" Riley exclaimed. "I can't wait to do karaoke!" She smiled. "Chris, did Ellie tell you that one of her favorite songs is Don't Stop Believing?"

"It hadn't come up, but your sister has great taste in sports so I'm not surprised she has a great taste in music," Chris replied as he caught the dagger look that Ellie was shooting at her younger sister. Not wanting to be in the kitchen for any fireworks between the sisters, he cleared his throat and said, "Anyway, I should probably go, uh, text my friend and see if we can get one of the private rooms for this evening."

Chris quickly made his way out of the room and all but ran up the stairs to the fourth bedroom that he'd set up as his office. He closed the door and crossed the room to sit in his office chair. After growing up with two sisters, he could tell when shit was about to go down and the look Ellie had given her youngest sister was a clear sign.

Pulling out his cell phone, Chris sent a text off to his buddy who owned the bar and got a reply a few minutes later confirming that the room was available and that they could use it.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Ellie pushed back her stool and carried her empty plate around the island to the dishwasher. She was irritated at her youngest sister for her comments to Chris or about Chris, but she didn't want to ruin Riley's birthday weekend so she chose to keep her thoughts to herself.

"If you two hand me your plates, I'll load them," she said to her sisters and they quickly handed over their plates and silverware. "After I finish this I'm going to go take a shower and get dressed for the day. What should we do this afternoon?"

"Let's go shopping," Riley suggested. "Mom and dad gave me some money for my birthday and I need new clothes."

"Alright," Ellie said as she closed the dishwasher. Seeing her phone light up on the counter, she grabbed it and read the text from Chris. "We got the room for tonight. Chris says we need to be there by 7pm." She looked at Isabelle who still looked a little green. "Do you want to stay here and sleep?"

"No, no, I'll go shopping," Isabelle replied quickly. "I just need a hot shower."

"Alright, well let's meet back here in thirty minutes?" Ellie suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Riley replied.

Ellie nodded and left the kitchen via the backdoor with Daisy following her.

Isabelle waited until Ellie's head disappeared from sight before she smacked Riley in the arm. "Chill with the comments about her and Chris," she scolded her younger sister.

"I thought you and Scott were trying to get them together though," Riley replied, confused.

"No, we are trying to make them realize that they like each other, because it is so obvious to us," Isabelle explained. "They're also both very stubborn, which means we have to be delicate in how we manage this situation, otherwise they might resist each other even after they discover they like each other. That's not what we want for them."

"Why don't you just let them figure it out on their own then?" Riley asked.

"Because it's been two weeks since her birthday when he literally froze in the process of putting his jacket on because she came out of the bathroom looking like a goddess and neither of them have done a thing about it," Isabelle stated then rubbed her forehead. "It's too early to have this conversation. Just, be careful what you say around them, please."

Forty minutes later, the sisters reconvened in the kitchen and Ellie sent Chris a text telling him they were leaving. She drove her sisters out to the outlet mall that she and Isabelle had gone to a couple weeks prior and let them drag her around to all the different stores. She even let Isabelle talk her into buying a magenta-pink dress that had a black lace overlay. She had tried to resist, saying she had no place to wear a fancy dress, but Isabelle had used every lawyer trick in the book to convince her that she needed the dress in her closet.

It was after five pm by the time the sisters returned to the house. While her sisters ran upstairs to start getting ready for their night out, Ellie carried purchases downstairs where she found Chris and Scott sitting on the couch watching the Red Sox game. She set the bags down by the sliding glass door so she could grab them when she went out to the guesthouse later.

"You two need fresh beers?" she asked as she opened the fridge and grabbed one for herself.

"We're good," Chris replied.

Ellie took her seat between them on the couch and laughed when the brothers leaned forward simultaneously and pulled the coffee table closer to the couch so she, like them, could rest her feet on it. "You two are the best," she said.

"Did you get anything good while you were shopping?" Scott asked her as the game went to commercial.

"A dress, some shoes and random stuff I probably didn't need," she replied. "The other two got more stuff though."

"Are they upstairs?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, they spent the car ride home trying to decide what they were going to wear tonight," Ellie replied. "They'd probably love your input."

"Everyone does," Scott stated as he stood up. "You want to come up, too?"

"I'm good," Ellie replied. "Chris said casual, so I'm doing my own thing tonight."

"You better not wear a sports t-shirt," Scott told her. "No Harry Potter or Doctor Who either."

"Relax, Isabelle already gave me that lecture," Ellie said, rolling her eyes. "I'm wearing jeans and that black tank top thing that she gave me for my birthday."

"That, I approve of," Scott told her. "Chris -"

"I'm wearing what I have on," Chris told his brother, gesturing to the blue jeans and blue henley t-shirt he was wearing. "And shh, the game is back."

Forty minutes later, Ellie forced herself off the couch and went to the guesthouse to get ready. She put her new stuff away and pulled out the Isabelle and Scott approved outfit. She put it on and then went for the Ellie flare by putting on a pair of hot pink Converse All-Stars. She then went into the bathroom and applied a light layer of makeup and left her naturally curly hair down.

When she returned to the big house some thirty minutes later, Chris was the only one ready to go.

"They took over my bathroom," he told her. "Apparently, there wasn't room for Scott to sit on the counter and for your sisters to put their makeup on in the guest bathroom."

Ellie opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the buzzing of the privacy gate's intercom. She and Chris made their way over to the video unit and she was surprised to see Isabelle's boyfriend Eric's face.

"That's Izzy's boyfriend," she told Chris. She then hit the button to speak to Eric. "Hey Eric! It's Ellie, let me buzz you in." She hit the unlock button and the gate started to open. Walking over to the stairs, she yelled, "Hey Izzy, come down here."

"I'm not ready!" her sister called back.

"There is someone here to see you," Ellie replied.

By that time, Chris had opened the door to let Eric into the house.

"ERIC!" Isabelle shrieked as she spotted her boyfriend. She ran down the rest of the stairs and then jumped into his arms.

"He is even cuter in person." Ellie heard Scott mutter to Riley.

"What are you doing here?" Isabelle asked after she broke the kiss. "I thought you were supposed to be in Austin until Monday."

"I was supposed to," Eric replied. "But they found out the other candidate for the position was lying about something and they offered me the job last night."

"Oh my god!" Isabelle screamed and they kissed again.

In the process of averting her eyes, Ellie caught Chris glancing at his watch and knew they needed to get on the road if they were going to get the private room.

"Izzy, Eric," she said, her voice interrupting the happy couple. "Congrats on the job, Eric. How about, you come with us and we can celebrate with some shots."

"Can I shower first?" Eric asked. "I've been on the plane all day."

"We can go in groups of three," Scott suggested. "Chris, why don't you, Ellie and Riley, since she is ready, go now and we'll follow in like twenty minutes."

"Yes," Isabelle said. "That is a fantastic idea."

A second buzz of the gate's intercom caught their attention.

"That will be our car," Chris told Ellie and Riley. He looked over at his brother and asked, "How will you three get to the bar?"

"We'll take Uber," Scott replied. "You're the one who has to hide."

Chris nodded and opened the front door while Ellie and Riley quickly grabbed their purses. He waited for them to pass, catching a whiff of Ellie's perfume as she did. It was a fruity smell that reminded him of something, but he hadn't caught enough of it to figure out what it was.

The three of them made their way to the gate and, after opening it, Chris greeted their driver. He confirmed the plan with the driver and then climbed into the SUV after Ellie, sliding into the seat next to her. Forgetting all about her younger sister's presence in the car, he leaned in a breathed in her perfume again.

"Did you just sniff me?" Ellie asked, looking at him oddly.

"You smell like pears," he said, dumbly, as the scent registered in his mind.

"And do you like pears, Chris?" Riley's voice piped up from the row behind them.

Praying his face wasn't turning red, Chris cleared his throat and said, "I don't remember this perfume." He had never really thought about Ellie's perfume before, but now that he did think of it, he realized there wasn't a specific scent that he associated with her. She typically smelled like something fruity smell about her, but it was never the same.

"I just bought it today," Ellie replied with a small shrug. "I have a perfume habit."

"More like an obsession," Riley appended. "She has like fifteen bottles, some of which she doesn't even wear."

"Really?" Chris asked. "Why?"

"Why do you have a drawer full of watches in your closet?" Ellie countered.

"Touché," Chris said with a laugh. "You have a perfume habit, I have a watch habit. Case closed."

The drive to the bar took about thirty minutes, but they finally reached the warehouse turned bar. Chris led the sisters into the building and greeted the owner. He made introductions and then the owner led them to one of the private party rooms. After Chris told him that half of their group was running late, the owner promised to escort them when they arrived.

"This place is so cool," Riley stated.

The private room they were in had the same industrial feel of the rest of the bar, but it had a private bathroom, a TV, a pool table, a couple dart boards, several tables and a karaoke machine in one corner. There was also a tablet where they could submit their food and drink orders as well as choose a music station to play on the room's dedicated speakers.

While they waited for the others to arrive, Chris put in an order for tequila shots and an appetizer of loaded nachos. He then selected the classic rock station and soon Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody filled the room.

Scott, Isabelle and Eric arrived just after the food and shots and Ellie formerly introduced Eric and Chris before they all took the celebratory shots. They snacked on the nachos while they all looked over the food menu and soon placed their dinner and drink orders.

While they waited, Chris and Scott started a game of pool while the others watched. The brothers were competitive while they played and exchanged a lot of smack talk. Ironically, neither brother was very good at pool, but it didn't seem to matter to either of them.

Ultimately, Scott played a slightly better game than Chris and decided that he wanted to play against Ellie. She tried to get out of it, but relented when he bugged her about it the entire time they were eating dinner.

Armed with a cold bottle of beer, Ellie picked out her pool cue then played rock paper scissors with Scott to determine who got to break. Ellie won and took the first shot. Magically, a solid ball made it into a pocket. She took another shot, but nothing else went into a pocket.

Scott took his turn and cursed under his breath when he did nothing more than scramble the balls on the table and align the perfect shot for Ellie. Her next turn had her sinking two more balls into pockets and Scott knew he had to do something; time for the mind games.

"Ellie, I've got a question for you," Scott said as he applied more chalk to the tip of his cue. "Do your boobs get in the way when you're aligning up your shot? Because they seem like they would affect how you hold the cue."

A smirk crossed Ellie's face, because she knew exactly what he was trying to do. "No, actually, but what about the sleeves of your shirt?" she asked Scott as he was the only one wearing a long sleeved shirt. He had rolled up the sleeves, but they were cuffed just below his elbows. "Don't you feel a little restriction in your movements?"

Unfortunately for Scott, he was lining up to take his shot when she spoke and he suddenly felt like his arm movements were restricted. He shook his head trying to get her words out, but he still ended up knocking the cue ball into a pocket.

"Fuck you, Ellie," he muttered and she just patted his cheek before grabbing the cue ball out of the pocket and putting it in the perfect spot on the table.

Twenty minutes later, Ellie sunk the eight ball into a pocket, winning the game. She put her pool cue away and then made her way over to the table her sisters were sitting at watching.

Before his brother could challenge anyone else to a game of pool, Chris suggested they turn their attention to the karaoke machine. They took turns singing different songs and then the sisters teamed up to perform "Waterfall" by TLC with Ellie rapping Left Eye's section. The boys followed that with some Beastie Boys "Fight For Your Right".

They went back and forth, girls vs boys style, sometimes in groups, pairs or solo.

The boys' last song was Eric performing "The Bad Touch" by the Bloodhound Gang, but Ellie won it all for the girls by performing a flawless rendition of The Offspring's "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)". She knew all the words by heart, which allowed her to leave the stage and direct some of the lyrics directly at Scott, Chris and Eric, which had all of them, the guys and the girls, laughing hysterically.

It was nearly one in the morning when Chris made the call to the driver to come and get them. He then pulled out his credit card and paid for their entire tab, despite the others offering to pay their share.

"You should sit in the front seat," Chris told his brother when they walked out the backdoor of the bar where the car was waiting. "So we can drop you off at your place."

"I'm staying at the house, remember?" Scott said. "My roommate's parents are staying at our place, I can't go home."

"Where are you going to sleep?" Ellie asked. "All the beds are taken."

"The couch?" Riley suggested.

"I can't, I have a bad back, I have to sleep in a bed," Scott replied.

Ellie rubbed her temples as she tried to figure out the logistics. There was no way in hell she was sharing a bed with Riley again. "Ok, Scott, you take the guestroom that Isabelle is in. Isabelle, you and Eric can sleep in my place, but please, for the love of God, don't have sex." She shuddered. "I'll sleep on the couch."

"You're not sleeping on a couch," Chris told her. "You can take my bed and I -"

"Chris, no, it's fine, I -" Ellie started, but Scott cut her off.

"Let me save us all the headache of listening to you two fight over who is sleeping where," he said. "You both can just share Chris's bed."

"That makes the most sense," Isabelle agreed.

"No, no it doesn't," Ellie said, shaking her head. "Scott can share a bed with Chris. And I'll just sleep in my bed."

"Nope, not happening," Chris stated. "He talks in his sleep. That's a no go."

"Ellie, you'll just be sleeping," Isabelle told her sister. "Besides, it's just one night. Would it really be that terrible?"

Ellie wanted to turn and glare at her sister, but didn't want to risk getting sick to her stomach in the process. She'd always had issues with getting car sick and her tipsiness only made it worse. She remained silent on the remainder of the drive to the house and was the first one out of the car when it pulled up in front of the gate.

Instead of saying anything to the others, she went straight to the guesthouse to take a shower, get ready for bed and collect Daisy from her kennel. Once she was ready for bed, she put on her robe and then made her way into the main part of the house, where she found the others sitting around the kitchen table.

"I put fresh sheets on my bed the other day and I slept upstairs with Riley last night," she told Isabelle and then turned to Scott. "I expect you can put clean sheets on your best yourself?" He nodded. "Alright then, Daisy and I are going to bed." She paused to take a deep breath. "Chris, I guess, I will meet you there."

Standing up, Chris followed her and Daisy upstairs and waited until they were in the privacy of his room to say, "Are you sure you're ok with this? I think there is an air mattress in a box downstairs, I can bring it up after they're all asleep and -"

"I'm sure," she replied. "I trust you not to molest me in my sleep."

"Well good," Chris said with a laugh. "I trust you to keep your hands to yourself as well."

While Chris went into the bathroom to do his nightly stuff, Ellie took off her robe and laid it across the end of the bed. She then picked Daisy up and put her on the bed. She then turned down the blankets and slipped under the cool sheets. She snuggled into the ultra-comfortable bed with her dog stretched out beside her.

Chris's scent enveloped her in the bed and a strange sense of calm came over her. Her body relaxed and she was almost asleep when Chris exited the bathroom. Through heavily lidded eyes, she watched him make his way to the closet and close the door.

A couple minutes later, Chris came out the walk-in closet and made his way to the bed. He pulled back the blankets and pushed Daisy to the center of the bed before he got in. He turned off the lamp on his side of the bed and then stretched out.

He soon heard Ellie's breathing even out and heard Daisy start to snore softly. A smile pulled on his lips as he rolled onto his side and closed his eyes.


	11. Episode 7: The Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in August 2013. Chris takes Ellie with him to a friend's wedding.

August 16, 2013

Ellie was in the kitchen cleaning up dinner when Chris came into the room with his cell phone pressed to his ear. Not wanting to eavesdrop, she tried to block out his voice, but he was talking so loudly that it was difficult.

"You promised to go with me, Scott," he said into the phone. "What the hell am I supposed to do now? I hate going to these things alone… You're right, you're right, work comes first… Ellie?"

Ellie looked up at the mention of her name and found Chris looking at her.

"Yeah, I supposed it wouldn't hurt to ask her," Chris said into the phone. "I know, Scott…. I just wish you'd given me more notice that's all… I promise I will ask her, she is actually staring at me right now…. Yes, I will let you know if you are off the hook."

Curious, Ellie waited until Chris pulled the phone from his ear and hit the 'end' button.

"So," he said, casually. "What are the chances you have this weekend off from the bookstore?"

"Depends on what you need me to do," Ellie replied, crossing her arms.

"Scott was supposed to go with me to a wedding in Palm Springs this weekend," Chris explained. "But he just called to tell me that they need him here in LA for reshoots. So I was hoping you were available to go to the wedding with me as my, uh, date."

"You were going to take your brother to a wedding as your date?" Ellie teased, unable to stop herself.

"Funny," Chris replied, rolling his eyes. "I RSVP'd with a plus one and I can't go to this thing by myself. If I do, women tend to think I am free game and won't leave me alone."

"So it's less date and more personal bodyguard?" she theorized. She wasn't sure if she was up to the task of protecting Chris from the aforementioned 'women', but she wouldn't be a friend if she made him go by himself.

"You're going to make me beg, aren't you?" he said with a sigh.

"Well, now that you mention it," she smirked, curious to see how far this would go.

"You truly are evil," Chris muttered as his phone dinged alerting him to a text message. A smile spread across his face as he read his brother's text. He shot a quick 'thanks' in reply then turned his attention back to Ellie. "Before you make me beg, the resort the wedding is at has a full service day spa. The wedding is tomorrow night and Scott had scheduled himself a massage that they won't let him cancel. It's fully paid for. If you come with me, the massage is yours."

Ellie scrunched up her face as she realized her gig was up and the cocky grin on Chris's face told her he knew it, too. "Alright, I'm in," Ellie sighed, after a moment, reaching her hand across the island to shake Chris's.

"You're the best," Chris said with a smile.

"What does one wear to a Palm Springs resort?" Ellie asked.

Chris took in her cutoff jean shorts and her hot pink racer back tank top and said, "Definitely not that."

"What? You mean you don't think this is a classy look?" Ellie asked. She did a slow turn and caught Chris's eyes bouncing from her ass to her face. "See something you like?" The words slipped from her mouth before she realized it and she felt her face heat up as she watched Chris's do the same. "Oh my God, don't answer that."

"In the sake of all honesty, you have a nice ass," Chris confessed, unable to stop himself. "I noticed it that first day we met."

"Yeah, well you have a nice cock." Ellie's eyes widened as the words registered in her head and she slapped her hand over her mouth as Chris let out a roar of laughter.

"That is the best come back I have ever heard," Chris said, wiping the tears from his eyes as he laughed.

"I'm glad you think so, meanwhile, I'm ready to go bury myself under the blankets of my bed and never leave," Ellie replied. She couldn't believe the words had left her mouth; true as they were or not.

"It's ok, honestly," Chris said, attempting to calm himself. "It's been like five months, we should be able laugh about it by now…"

"I suppose you're right," Ellie replied. "It was pretty funny when you think about it." She giggled as she remembered the paper towels. "The fact that you grabbed the -"

"Paper towels when there was a newspaper right there, yeah, yeah, yeah. My mom loves that part of the story too."

"How are we going to do this?" Ellie asked, sobering. "Like what are we telling people this weekend if they ask how we met."

"We'll keep it simple, you're my friend and you came as my date," Chris replied. "Keep it simple. We met through a mutual friend."

"There isn't going to be any paparazzi there, right? I mean, am I going to have to worry about them posting my picture somewhere with the caption 'Chris Evans dates mystery brunette with fake boobs' the next time I go to the grocery store?"

"It's not an industry wedding," Chris said with a chuckle. "So no, there shouldn't be any paparazzi. In fact, the resort we are going to is well protected so we should be fine."

"Ok, good," Ellie nodded. "I didn't want to have to defend myself to the cashier about my boobs being real."

"Should the situation present itself, I'd be happy to take a feel and confirm they're real, to defend your honor and all that," Chris said, earning him a glare from Ellie. "Too soon?"

"Too soon," Ellie said with a nod. "Now if you'll excuse me. I have some packing to do and I have to see if I can find someone to watch -"

"Scott said he'd stay here tomorrow night," Chris cut her off. "He also doesn't have to be on set until noon, so he'll check on Daisy before then."

"Perfect," Ellie replied. "I'll bring her kennel into the house in the morning. What time do I need to be ready?"

"9ish? Your massage is at noon, so leaving at 9 would give you time to get settled in your room first."

"Sounds good, I'll see you in the a.m."

With Daisy following her, Ellie went out to the guesthouse and opened her closet to pick out her most resort appropriate clothing. She selected the brand new dress she'd purchased when shopping with her sisters and then grabbed nice clothes from the back of her closet that she hadn't worn since she'd first moved to LA. She quickly tried them on and was pleasantly surprised when they still fit and actually felt a little looser than she remembered.

Not wanting to fold her nice clothes, she put them all under a dry cleaning plastic cover and then proceeded to fill her medium sized rolling suitcase with everything she thought she might need. It was nearly midnight by the time she lifted Daisy up onto the bed and climbed in after her.

When her alarm went off seven hours later, she sprung from her bed and took a quick shower. She waited until after she'd carried Daisy's kennel up to the main house before she put on her navy blue dress with striped top. She then made sure all the lights were off in the guesthouse before grabbing her purse, suitcase and the clothes that were hanging and carrying them up to the main house.

Chris came into the kitchen shortly after eight wearing a pair of khaki dress pants and a navy blue shirt that matched her outfit perfectly. He was carrying a hanging luggage bag and stopped short when he saw Ellie's stuff piled next to the table. "You do remember we are only going to be gone for one night, right?" he said, fighting back his laughter.

"Shut up," Ellie retorted, pushing her naturally curly hair out of her face. Spotting Chris's hanging luggage bag she asked, "I don't suppose you have another one of those…"

"You can just add 'em to mine," Chris replied. He unzipped it and held it open for her to add her stuff.

"Thanks," Ellie replied. "Want eggs for breakfast?"

"Sure, I'll get the coffee going," Chris offered.

An hour later, they were in Chris's car and pulling out of the driveway. They argued all the way to the freeway as to what music to play and Ellie finally convinced him to listen to one of her random car mixes.

After about thirty minutes of country songs and 90's boybands, Chris reached over and lowered the volume. "How about we just talk," he suggested.

"About what?" Ellie replied as she switched to a different playlist on her phone. She reached over to turn the volume back up, but had her hand swatted away.

"How about sports? I know you like baseball. Do you like anything?"

"I _love_ football," she said with a grin. "I can't wait for the season to start."

"Really?" He cocked his eyebrow and glanced at her. "Who's your team?"

"Depends, are you asking college or NFL?"

"Do you have a preference?"

"I like college better, because every year you have new players and every 3 to 4 years, there is a major change over."

"Far enough. Who's your college team?"

"The Oregon Ducks, of course. Fun fact, our mascot, Puddles, is Donald Duck's alter ego."

"Uh huh, sure."

"No, I'm serious. One of our former Athletic Directors in the 1940's knew a Disney cartoonist and through him got a meeting with Walt Disney himself," Ellie stated. "There is a picture of Walt wearing an Oregon Ducks jacket. They changed the mascot costume a little, a few years ago, but all the Puddles branded stuff is Donald Duck."

"Given that that was a lot of information in like sixty seconds, I'm just going to believe you," Chris said with a chuckle. "Do you have an NFL team?"

"Of course I do. I'm a Northwest girl so it's obviously the Seahawks. I know you're a Pats fan, though."

"What gave it away?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Obviously not the Patriots shit you have all over the house," she said shaking her head. "I guess I'm just glad you don't like the Cowboys."

"Likewise."

From football their conversation moved to sports they played as kids then to childhood memories and everything in between while music played quietly in the background. It made the two and a half hour drive pass quickly; especially when traffic slowed to a crawl in certain places.

"Holy shit," Ellie gasped as she caught sight of the mission style resort. "This place is gorgeous."

"It belongs to the bride's family," Chris said. "The groom was one of my first roommates here in California."

Pulling up to the entrance, Chris and Ellie's doors were opened for them by resort staff. Chris was given a ticket for the valet service while Ellie supervised the other staff member pulling their luggage out of the trunk.

They made their way into the lobby and were greeted by a third staff member. "Good morning," she said, greeting them. "Can I get you two something to drink before I check you in?"

"No, I think we're good, thanks though," Chris replied.

"Follow me please." She led them over to the check in desk and asked Chris his name. "Ah, yes, I see your reservation here. It's an excellent room overlooking the golf course."

"One room?" Ellie asked in surprise.

"There must be a mistake," Chris told the lady. "There should be two rooms."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Evans, but there is only one room with a king size bed reserved under your name," the woman replied.

"But you have other rooms available, right?" Ellie asked her.

"No, Miss, I apologize, but we are fully booked this weekend," the lady replied.

"Can you give us a minute to talk?" Chris asked her.

"Of course," the woman replied, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.

"Now what?" Ellie asked as she and Chris moved away from the check-in desk. "There's nothing else out this way."

"I know," Chris replied. "We just shared a bed two weeks ago, are you opposed to doing it again?"

"I don't think we have any other options," Ellie sighed.

Walking back to the counter, Chris finished the checking in process and then he and Ellie were led to their second floor room by a bellhop.

The room was of modest size with a large king bed taking up most of it. The attached bathroom had a full glass shower, a separate tub and two sinks. The best feature, however, was the wall of windows that separated the small balcony from the rest of the room and looked out over the beautiful green golf course.

"I don't feel like we're in southern California anymore," Ellie muttered after the bellhop had left. "It's so green."

"You're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy," Chris teased as he opened the patio door and they stepped out into the warm air. "Gah, heat like this makes me miss Boston."

"All this green makes me miss Oregon," Ellie agreed. "This heat is atrocious. I feel my hair getting bigger already."

Chris snickered and stole a look at her before nodding his head. "It's definitely doing something…"

"Fuck, I may have to squeeze in a hair appointment today, too," Ellie grumbled. "You got any more of that Grant money I saw you hand the bellhop? You know, in case they don't take pity on me in the spa by the mere appearance of my hair?"

"Since you're helping me out this weekend, yes, I can give you some money," Chris replied with a shake of his head. "Can we go back inside now?"

Thirty minutes later, Ellie left the room with her room key, a small bag of supplies and extra money in her purse. The spa was easy to find and the receptionist took one look at her hair, asked if she was here for the wedding and quickly ushered her into a stylist's chair.

The stylist applied a product to Ellie's hair then wrapped her hair up before she was escorted to one of the private changing rooms. She took off her clothes and put on a thick terry cotton robe then grabbed the key to the changing room before being led to the massage table.

By the time she returned to her and Chris's room, two hours later, she was completely relaxed from her massage and the hot shower that had followed. The stylist had whipped her hair into submission and, for the first time in her life, she actually had bouncy curls! She'd even had her makeup and her nails done. She'd felt like she was floating during the entire walk back to the room.

"Wow," Chris said when he looked from when where he was laying on the bed. "You look nice."

"Thanks," Ellie replied. Catching sight of herself in the large mirror on the way, she swung her hair and giggled.

"Either you've already started drinking or the spa is experimenting with personality transplants," Chris laughed.

"I may have had a mimosa or two," Ellie smiled as she walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "But look, Chris, look at my hair. It's never looked this good before! Gus, the hair stylist, is a God. There is no other way to describe him."

"It looks good," Chris agreed. Truthfully, he liked her hair in its wild natural form or pulled back in a ponytail. He liked her down to earth spunkiness. "But I'm guessing that this means you don't want to spend the next two hours down at the pool."

"Gus said to stay away from water," Ellie replied. "So that's a definite no."

With a couple hours to kill, they channel surfed until they found a preseason NFL game featuring two teams neither of them cared about, but they watched since it was football.

When they were down to the final thirty minutes, Chris went into the bathroom to take a quick shower while Ellie stayed in the main part of the room to get dressed. By the time Chris left the bathroom dressed and ready to go, all Ellie needed was for him to zip up the back of her dress.

"What are you doing?" she demanded as she saw Chris reaching for his plain black baseball cap. "You're not wearing that."

"Ellie, come on, I'm trying to be incognito, remember?"

"Wearing a baseball hat with a suit is not the way to remain incognito at a formal wedding," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "Just wear your sunglasses and keep your head down."

"You're the boss," Chris replied, holding up his hands defensively.

"And don't you forget it," Ellie smirked. She watched as he grabbed his sunglasses and slipped them on. "Perfect! Let's go."

They made their way down to the outdoor ceremony and took two seats in the very last row that had been reserved for them.

"How many people are here?" Ellie whispered.

"500?" Chris guessed as he looked out over the crowd. Half of them were seated on an upper patio while the rest were in a grassy area.

"Do you know anyone other than the bride and the groom?" Ellie asked.

"The groom, Ray, and I were two of five roommates," Chris replied. "So I suspect our other roommates are here. As for Kady's guests, I don't know anyone."

They stopped talking as Ray and the officiant walked to the front of the audience and took their positions. Fourteen pairs of bridesmaids and groomsmen made their way down the aisle before the bride appeared with her father.

After the ceremony ended, the wedding party was escorted away for photos while the guests were excused to the cocktail hour. Servers made their way through the crowd with appetizers and custom drinks created by the bride and groom for the wedding.

Chris and Ellie found a quiet table along the edge of the party and relaxed as they people watched. Spotting a group of six walking towards them, Ellie nudged Chris and pointed.

A smile spread across Chris's face as he recognized his three other roommates and their beautiful wives. One by one he gave them each a hug and then introduced them to Ellie. "This is Ellie," he told them. "Ellie, this is Chucky and Tanya Kelley, Bryant and Gloria Gomez and Brock and Tessa Alexander."

"Hi," Ellie said with an awkward wave to the six strangers in front of her.

"So how did this one convince you to come to this festive event?" Chucky asked as he put Chris in a pretend headlock. "Just blink twice if you're not here by your own choosing."

"Shut the fuck up, Chuck," Chris said, elbowing his friend in the gut. "Ellie is just a friend doing me a favor because Scott had a conflict."

"Alright, _friend_ Ellie, how did you meet this guy?" Chucky asked as he gave Chris a playful push.

"Mutual friends," Ellie replied, giving her best poker face as she tried to come up with a better answer. "We both love Red Sox baseball and football and they thought we'd get along great."

"Of course, C.E. would find a girl, sorry, a _friend_ , that loves football," Brock chuckled. "Has he told you about his annual NFL kickoff party? It's a blast."

"No," Ellie said, looking at Chris with raised eyebrows. "He hadn't mentioned anything about a party…"

"We'll have something to talk about on the way home," Chris said with a forced chuckle.

A voice came over the speaker system inviting everyone to make their way to the dinner area.

"Saved by the bell," Bryant teased Chris.

"A kickoff party?" Ellie hissed to Chris as they followed the other three couples.

"It's usually a potluck style," Chris replied. "I usually supply the drinks and chips."

"Still," Ellie said, forcing a smile on her lips as she realized they were sitting at a table with his friends.

As they reached the table, Chris pulled her chair out for her and then pushed it back in once she was seated.

"So," Ellie said, leaning in. "You guys have known this one for a while. I'm sure you have lots of hilarious stories to share." She tossed Chris a grin.

"We're in public," Chris said, shaking his head. "Keep in clean."

Chris's friends shared stories as they ate the delicious five course meal. By the time they'd finished eating, they were all a little tipsy from their drinks and their faces hurt from laughing. Even Chris had joined in on the storytelling, dragging his friends down with him.

They all quieted down as the bride and groom shared their first dance as husband and wife. That dance was followed by the other traditional dances, but soon the lead singer of the live band invited everyone out on top the dance floor to work off their dinner.

Ellie had assumed she and Chris would sit out on the dancing, but his friends wouldn't allow it. She quickly found herself being pulled out onto the dancefloor with her hand clutched in Chris's. The first few dances were lively and upbeat, but then it switched to a slow song.

Before she and Chris had a chance to escape the dance floor, they were pushed together. After moving their hands from the awkward spots they had landed, they repositioned themselves so they were in a basic slow dance hold, with her hands resting on his shoulders and his hands on her waist.

As soon as the song was done, Chris grabbed her hand and made a beeline off the dance floor. Ellie laughed as he pulled her over to the bar and it was as they were leaving with drinks that they ran into the bride and groom. Chris introduced Ellie to them and, in the few minutes they spent with them, Ellie could tell that they were as genuine and sweet as Chris's other friends.

An hour or so later, their group sat at their table listening to the speeches being made by the wedding party and various other people. The toasts were immediately followed by the bride and groom cutting the cake and then the servers delivered small, personal-sized cakes to everyone.

By the time they'd finished eating their dessert, it was nearly midnight and the long day was starting to catch up to Chris and Ellie. They said their goodbyes to Chris's friends and then took one of the golf cart shuttles back to the main building where they were staying.

After Chris helped Ellie unzip the back of her dress, she went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. When she exited fifteen minutes later, she was wearing one of the hotel's fluffy white robes over her matching camisole and short pajamas.

While Chris was in the bathroom, Ellie admired her hair in the mirror, amazed that it still looked fantastic after so many hours. She was beginning to think that Gus the hairstylist was a magician.

Not ready to climb into the bed yet, Ellie grabbed her phone and sat down on the end of the chaise lounge. She laid back against the soft fabric and wondered if she shouldn't just sleep there with her hair cascading over the side.

When Chris came out of the bathroom, he shook his head and asked, "Are you coming to bed soon?"

"I think I'm going to sleep right here," Ellie replied, moving her head slightly so the still bouncy curls swayed over the edge of the arm. "Keep my hair from getting messed up."

"You are not sleeping on that thing," Chris said firmly. "You'll hurt your neck."

"But my hair looks so good, Chris!" Ellie pouted.

"Ellie -" He stopped when he realized he didn't know her middle name. "What's your middle name?"

"Elaine," she replied with a yawn.

"You're name is Ellie Elaine?"  he asked, confused.

"No, Ellie is short for Elaine. My first name is Sarah," she explained.

"So why don't you go by Sarah?" he inquired.

"Because that was my grandma's name and she went by Sarah."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Chris replied. "What were we talking about again?"

"I believe you were getting ready to threaten me," Ellie stated.

"Oh right," Chris nodded. He cleared his throat and then in a stern voice said, "Sarah Elaine, you're not sleeping on that thing. I will carry you to the bed if I have to and I will lay on top of you to make you stay."

Ellie sat up and stared at Chris in shock. "You do realize you would crush me if you laid on top of me, right?" she asked.

"Oh, right," Chris said. "Well, I'd find some way to restrain you to the bed."

"Fine," Ellie sighed as she forced herself up. "Have it your way."

While she got into the bed, Chris adjusted the air conditioning of the room, turning it to a lower temperature. He then grabbed an extra blanket from the closet and tossed it to Ellie. He knew she liked to sleep in a cold room, like he did, but he'd learned that she was a bit of a blanket hog.

Climbing into the bed, Chris turned off the lights and pulled the blankets up to his chin. He heard Ellie rustling around next to him and waited for her to get settled before his closed his eyes.

Hours later, he awoke to her long hair fanned out across his face. Brushing it away, he looked over and saw that she was lying on her side facing him. Sometime during the night they had moved from their respective edges to the middle of the bed where a mere foot or so separated them from each other.

Unable to fall back to sleep, he watched her. He loved that her hair had returned to its natural form sometime during the night and it surround her like a lion's mane.

"Stop staring at me, you creeper," she mumbled.

Chris couldn't help but laugh.


	12. Episode 7.25: Going to Boston

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in August 2016.

_August 3, 2016  
_ _Boston, MA_

Ellie slipped on her sunglasses and pulled on her Boston Red Sox hat as she waited for her turn to get off the plane. Feeling her phone buzz, she took it out of her pocket and smiled when she saw a text from Chris.

**Scott will meet you at the baggage claim. Love you.**

She sent him a quick reply, telling him he loved him, too, and then tucked her phone away. She grabbed her carry-on bag and followed the row in front of her off the plane.

Ellie's excitement grew steadily as she made her way out of the secure part of the airport and down to the baggage claim. Chris, Scott and the dogs had left a few days earlier than she had so the house had been eerily quiet without them.

Reaching the baggage claim, Ellie stood on her tiptoes looking for Scott and found him after several minutes of searching. She hurried over to him and smiled when he spotted her.

They hugged and then made their way to the carousel that her flights luggage would be on. They chatted quietly until the first bags appeared and quickly spotted her bright pink bags.

Scott hauled the suitcases off the conveyor belt while she sent Chris a text to tell him they were ready for him.

They made their way out to the loading zone and waited for Chris to come pick them up.

"There he is," Scott said, pointing to a dark sedan with tinted windows. Ellie followed him to the car and they put her suitcases in the trunk before getting inside, Ellie in the front with Chris and Scott in the backseat.

It wasn't until Chris was out of the loading zone and in the slow moving line to actually leave the airport that he leaned over and gave Ellie a peck on the lips. "How was your flight?" he asked.

"Uneventful," Ellie replied with a shrug. "How do the dogs like Boston?"

"They love it," Chris chuckled. "Though I'm sure that has less to do with actually being here and more to do with the fact that they get so much attention from the kiddos."

They made small talk on the hour long drive to Chris's Boston home.

Chris had purchased the house in the fall of 2014, but had had renters when she'd come to visit last. With the renters gone, he had decided to redo the house so she had only seen pictures of the it, both before and after the work he'd had done on the place.

Ellie's eyes lit up as Chris pulled into the driveway of a modest-sized, white Dutch Colonial Revival house. The lawn was perfectly manicured and the whole thing looked like something out of a magazine.

"What do you think?" Chris asked after parking the car in the garage he'd added onto the property.

"It's beautiful," Ellie said.

"I'll get your bags," Scott offered. "Go take a tour."

"Thanks Scott," Chris told his brother before leading Ellie to the front of the house. He unlocked the front door then stepped aside so she could enter the house.

"Wow," Ellie breathed as she took in the gleaming wood floors that led into each room off the main entry way and up the staircase leading to the second floor.

"Come on," Chris said, taking her hand. He led her through the main floor of the house, showing her the kitchen, the living room, the formal dining room, a small powder room, and the room he had had converted into a main floor master suite.

He then led her upstairs to where there were three smaller bedrooms and a large family bathroom. One of the rooms was set up as a guestroom, another as an office, while the last one had been transformed into a playroom/bunk room for his nieces and nephews.

"It's all so beautiful, Chris," Ellie smiled as they went back downstairs and found Scott waiting for them.

"You haven't seen the best part yet," Scott grinned at her. "Is it time?"

"It's time," Chris nodded. "You ready for the big reveal in the backyard?"

"Yes!" Ellie exclaimed. Ever since they had started planning this trip, he had been teasing her about a big surprise in the backyard. Something that made all the hard work that had gone into the house completely worth it.

She held on to Chris's hand as he led her out the backdoor in the kitchen and out into the backyard. They followed a carefully laid out path through the yard that was home to many a tall tree.

"Where are we going?" Ellie asked as they drew closer to the fence.

"You'll see," Chris told her.

Upon reaching the fence, Chris lifted the hidden lever and opened the secret gate that connect his house to -

"That's your mom's house!" Ellie exclaimed, instantly recognizing the brick structure.

As if they'd been expecting them, the backdoor of the house opened and Daisy and Dodger led everyone out into the yard.


	13. Episode 7.5: Desperate for Football

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in August 2016.

_August 4, 2016_

_Boston, MA_

*Beeeeeep* *Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep* *BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*

Reaching over to the bedside table, Ellie blindly felt for her phone and silenced the alarm. She groaned into the pillow as her body complained that it was still tired.

Since she could hear Chris softly snoring next to her, she knew it couldn't be too late in the morning, but she couldn't recall what she had set the alarm for. Lifting her head, she saw that it was 10:28 in the morning and decided to go back to sleep for a few more minutes.

Settling back against her pillow, she closed her eyes and tried to recall the dream she'd been having, but the only thing that came to her mind was football.

"College Football Live is on!" she exclaimed, sitting up in bed.

"Uh! What?' Chris asked, groggily from beside her.

"Nothing, babe, sorry for waking you up," Ellie apologized. She gave him a kiss on the lips then climbed out of bed. Dodger and Daisy followed her as she left the bedroom and headed into the living room where the only TV in the house was.

Turning the TV on, she flipped it to ESPN and then let the dogs out of the house to do their business. Returning to the living room, she was surprised to see that Sports Center was on and not College Football Live. Grabbing her phone, she opened up her TV Guide app and looked at the ESPN listing for 10:30, which showed that CFL was supposed to be showing.

"Stupid ESPN," she muttered as she listened to them talking about stuff she didn't care about. "All I want to watch is College Football Live!"

"That's not on for another 3 hours," Chris said from the doorway.

"No, it's on at 10:30!" Ellie replied. "Look!" She showed him the app on her phone.

"It's on at 10:30 on the West Coast," Chris said. "That's 1:30 here. It's only 7:30 back in California."

Ellie frowned as she processed his words and she crossed her arms. "Stupid time zones and jet lag."

Chris shook his head as he chuckled. "I'm going to get you some coffee," he said.

He returned a couple minutes later with a mug in each hand and gave one of them to her before taking a seat next to her on the couch. As they sipped their coffee, the sports casters talked about everything from basketball, golf, tennis, the upcoming Olympics and every other sports known to man except football.

"Shut up and bring us football," Ellie told them.

"Damn," Chris said, giving her a side-eyed glance. "You're getting really aggressive about your football, babe. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were desperate for it…"

"I am desperate for it!" she exclaimed. "You saw the way the Ducks totally and utterly -" She stopped talking, not wanting to remember the horror that was last season or the way her team had given up a 30+ point lead in their bowl game and ultimately lost. She took a deep breath and then continued, "It's a new season and I'm ready for it to begin."

"That's not what I meant by desperate," Chris said, his blue eyes sparkling mischievously. "I meant it as in you are _horny_ for football to start."

Ellie's blue eyes opened wide and she opened her mouth to disagree, but she couldn't because it was true. "Yeah, well, at least I don't pop a semi every time -"

"Do not finish that statement," Chris said, threateningly.

"Every time Tom Brady's name is mentioned or his picture is shown on the TV!" Ellie finished defiantly.

"You've done it now," Chris said, his eyes flashing with danger. He licked his lips and then he dove at her, his fingers finding her most ticklish spots.

"Stop it!" Ellie shrieked as she laughed and tried to get away from him, but he was too strong. "Chris! Stop!"

"You know the magic words," Chris taunted as he continued to tickle her. "All you have to do is admit that Tom Brady is the best quarterback of our generation and I'll let you go."

"Never!" Ellie replied as she tried to squirm away. The only result was that she and Chris both ended up on the floor, but somehow he was still on top of her.

"Are you ok?" he asked with genuine concern on his face.

"Yes," she nodded and immediately regretted it when he started tickling her again. "Stop it or I'll knee you where the sun doesn't shine." She tried to put a mean look on her face, but it was hard when he kept tickling her.

"You'd never do that," Chris said smugly.

"Yes, I would," Ellie said, channeling all her inner strength to display a threatening look on her face.

"Nope," he shook his head.

"Stop saying that," Ellie frowned.

"If you were going to do it, you'd already have done it," Chris pointed out. "Besides, you like the dick too much it hurt it."

"Eh," Ellie shrugged, giving a bored shrug.

"'Eh', really?" Chris asked.

Ellie fought back a smile as Chris grabbed her hands and pulled them over her head, holding them there with one hand.

"I'll show you 'eh'," he whispered.

He took advantage of the fact that she was wearing what she'd worn to bed the night before--a long t-shirt and a pair of booty shorts--and slid the shirt up with his free hand, exposing her large breasts to his eyes.

Ellie bit down on her lower lip as Chris's pawed at one of her breasts while his tongue teased the nipple of the other. He took his sweet time on her breasts, letting her know that he planned to get even with her for her 'eh' comment.

She was more than ready when his hand finally moved down her body to her panties, but he took his time teasing her through the thin fabric.

"Chris," she whined as he teased her sensitive nub through her panties. "Please!"

"You know the magic words," Chris taunted as he let go of her hands. "Don't move your hands."

Ellie's chest rose and fell as Chris slowly pulled her panties down her legs. She parted her legs, giving him full access to her lady parts, hoping he'd take a hint. She 'huffed' out a whine when his hands found her inner thighs.

"Just say it, babe," he said, pressing a kiss to her inner thigh.

"The Dick isn't eh!" she said. "It's magical! It has the power to completely undo me!"

"Of course it does," Chris replied as he let his fingers dance over the outer lips of her sex. "But those aren't the magic words."

"I don't want to say that," she whined.

"Say it." He blew hot air across her mound.

"Fuck you!" she cried out.

"I'll fuck you as soon as you say the magic words," Chris replied, looking up at her with a mischievous smile.

"TomBradyisthebestquarterbackofourgeneration," Ellie grumbled.

"What was that?" Chris asked. "I couldn't hear you."

Ellie glared at him and then said, "Tom Brady is the best quarterback of our generation."

"Damn right he is," Chris smirked and then he dove in between her legs, his hands exploring her inner lips and his tongue tasting everything she had to offer.

Ellie closed her eyes and grabbed onto the leg of the coffee table as Chris applied his practically orgasmic kissing skills to her sex. Her cries filled the living room, blocking out the voices of the sports casters as they talked about the NFL.

Ellie's body tightened as he brought her over the edge and she cried out as she came. Opening her eyes as she recovered, she watched as he shucked his boxers and ran his hand over his hard manhood.

Repositioning himself between her legs, Chris slid into her in a single motion. Leaning down, his mouth found hers and he slipped his tongue in between her parted lips. As they kissed, he moved in and out of her.

Soon their mouths separated and their heavy breathing filled the room as their bodies moved together.

Chris said nothing as Ellie's hands moved from the leg of the coffee table and grabbed hold of his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin. The fact that she had held out for so long made him harder and added extra power to his next thrust.

Ellie cried out as she came and Chris followed with a moan as he shot his seed into her. He collapsed against her, half on and half off of her.

As they lay there, the conversation between the sports casters turned from the Patriots to baseball.


	14. Episode 7.75: The Olympics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in August 2016.

_August 10, 2016  
_ _Boston, MA_

Ellie's phone buzzed, alerting her to a new text message. Grabbing it off of her dresser, she smiled when she saw it was from Chris's sister Carly.

**Incoming.**

"The kids are on their way," Ellie called to Chris, who was in their bathroom, before she left the bedroom. She made her way to the kitchen and laughed when she found Daisy and Dodger sitting side-by-side in front of the backdoor. "You two know your little humans are on their way, don't you?" Dodger gave a happy bark.

Spotting the kids through the glass in the door, Ellie opened it and let the dogs outside. The dogs raced to their new best friends and shrieks and barks of joy quickly reached Ellie's ears.

Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she took a quick photo and then sent it to Carly as confirmation that her kids had made it from their backyard through the fence into Chris's backyard.

"Hey you guys," she called to the kids and the dog as she put her phone in her pocket. "I thought we were watching the Olympics?!"

The kids ran the rest of the way to the house with the dogs on their heels. She gave her oldest nephew, Ethan, a high five and gave her niece, Stella, a quick hug before turning her attention to the middle child, Miles.

"Hi Auntie Ellie," he said, giving her a big smile.

"Hi Nephew Miles." she replied, ruffling his hair.

Miles had brought her to tears on the night she'd arrived in Boston when he'd called her "Auntie Ellie" for the first time. He had struggled with her name ever since their first meeting due to his speech impediment and he'd called her "E" instead. However, his mom had told Ellie, the other night, that when he found out Ellie was going to be his aunt he told his mom he wanted to say her name. He'd spent the last six months working extra hard with his speech therapist and practicing her name. Everyone in the family had known about his surprise and had helped him.

"Alright who -"

"I hear little voices," Chris said loudly in a gruff voice from the hall, cutting Ellie off. He stomped his foot against the ground in an exaggerated manner. "Who dare bring children into my house?" He took another stomp.

The kids looked at each other with raised eyebrows and then scattered when Chris roared. The boys ran into the living room and dining room to hide while Stella hid behind Ellie.

Chris stomped into the room and pretended not to see his niece as he looked around the room. "I smell children," he said to Ellie.

"Nope, no kids here," Ellie smiled. "You might check the living room though."

Chris nodded and turned to leave the kitchen.

"HE'S COMING!" Stella yelled out a warning to her brothers.

"Ah ha! A child!" Chris exclaimed, spinning around. He grabbed Stella and tickled her as she squealed in delight. He tucked her under his arm like a football and sniffed the air. "I smell little boys."

Ellie shook her head as she followed Chris as he stomped into the living room. She wasn't sure who liked the gate between his backyard and his mom's backyard more: Chris or the kids.

"Let go of our sister, you monster!" Miles shouted at Chris. He and Ethan grabbed Chris's legs and "forced" him to the ground.

While Chris, Stella and the boys wrestled on the floor, Ellie took a seat on the couch and turned on the TV. A few minutes later, Stella snuck away from the rough housing and climbed into her lap.

"Ok! Ok!" Chris cried out breathlessly. "I'm done! No more!"

His nephews eyed him skeptically. They'd clearly fallen for this trick too many times.

"You're all done for today," Ellie said, firmly. She gave Chris a look.

"Aunt Ellie is right," Chris said, holding his hands up. "What type of Olympians are we today?"

"I'm a boxer!" Ethan declared, jumping into a boxing stance. He threw a couple punches into the air then pretended to dodge one.

"I'm a swimmer," Mile said. He then pretended to swim around the room.

"And what are you, Stel?" Chris asked as he sat down on the couch next to her and Ellie.

"'Nastics!" Stella exclaimed.

"You said that yesterday," Ethan pointed out.

"That's ok," Ellie smiled, smoothing her hand over Stella's hair. "Gymnastics is fun to watch, isn't it?" Stella nodded.

"Uncle Chris, how come you aren't wearing USA stuff?" Ethan asked. "Don't you like Team USA?"

Chris smiled as he took in their appearances. His nephews were wearing their 4th of July 2016 Old Navy shirts and jean shorts while Stella was wearing a red, white and blue sundress. Ellie had gone all out wearing a pair of blue drawstring shorts and wearing a shirt that had "GO! TEAM USA" on it.

"I'm Captain America," he said. "It's kind of obvious that I love Team USA."

"Aunt Ellie, tell him he has to wear a USA shirt, too," Miles said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ellie had to bit her lip to keep from snickering. She cleared her throat and then said, "Miles, it's up to Uncle Chris whether or not he wears a Team USA shirt. But maybe if you ask him really nicely, maybe he'll go put on the t-shirt I bought for him."

Four sets of doe-like eyes turned on him and Ethan said, "Uncle Chris, will you _please_ wear a Team USA shirt like us?"

Chris looked at Ellie and shook his head. "I'll be back," he sighed. Getting up, he went back to the bedroom and put on the red "Team USA" shirt Ellie had brought him. He changed t-shirts and then returned to the living room.

The boys had joined Ellie and Stella on the couch and they were all watching the Swimming preliminaries. With the boys sitting on either of Ellie and Stella on her lap, Chris picked Miles up and held him upside down as he sat down on the couch next to Ellie, he then righted his nephew and tucked him next to him.


	15. Episode 8: A Day at the Ball Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in August 2013 and features Ellie, Chris, Scott and one of Scott's friends going to the Dodger's game vs the Red Sox.

August 25, 2013

Chris and Ellie were in the kitchen eating lunch when they heard Scott thundering down the stairs at top speed. They both looked up as at the younger Evans brother came skidding into the kitchen.

"Chris, your role as Ellie's favorite Evans' brother is about to be overtaken!" Scott declared with a grin on his face.

"I'm her favorite?" Chris responded as the same time Ellie said, "I have a favorite Evans' brother?"

"Yes and it _was_ Chris," Scott said, waving off their comments. "But today, I'm the favorite, because I got us three tickets to the Red Sox game today against the Dodgers!"

"You are my favorite," Ellie declared with a laugh.

"Told you," Scott smirked.

"How'd you get tickets?" Chris asked his brother.

"My friend James was supposed to go with some friends, but they backed out at the last minute," Scott explained. "He remembered I'm from Boston and asked if I wanted to go and if I knew anyone else who'd want to go. I told him about you two and now we're going to see the Red Sox, bitches!"

\---

Two hours later, they took a cab to Dodger Stadium and waited for Scott's friend James to show up. Chris and Ellie found a quiet, shaded area in hopes of not attracting attention, while Scott went to the spot he and James had arranged to meet.

Ellie was the first to spot Scott returning with his polo and golf shorts wearing friend. The closer they got, the more she liked what she saw of his tall, golden-skinned friend. His hair was cut short and spiky, but there was a surfer edge to the otherwise preppy looking male. She found he was even cuter when he was standing right in front of her and he had a charming smile, too.

"James, I'd like you to meet my brother Chris," Scott said, making introductions. "And our friend Ellie."

"Nice to meet you," James said shaking both of their hands. "Obviously, I missed the Red Sox hat memo." He let out a melodic laugh. "But maybe I'll buy a Dodger hat inside, just to spice things up a bit."

"We should go into the park," Chris said in a monotone voice.

"Great idea," James nodded. "We'll want to get drinks and food before we take our seats." He handed them their tickets and they headed for the gates.

With James and Chris walking in front of them, Ellie nudged Scott. "He's a good looking guy," she whispered.

"He is," Scott agreed with a sigh. "Sadly, he likes your type and not mine."

"His loss," Ellie replied as she slipped her arm through Scott's. "You're the greatest."

They stood in line to get into the ballpark and then Chris headed down to their seats while the other three went to get food and drinks, Scott and Ellie promising to grab stuff for him.

Chris kept his head down as he waited for the others to arrive and he was slightly disgruntled to hear Ellie laughing as she, Scott and James got to their row. They took their seats according to the seat number on their tickets which meant that Ellie sat between him and James while Scott sat on Chris's other side.

"They've been laughing since we got in line," Scott whispered to Chris as he settled into his aisle seat. "It's adorable."

Chris grunted in response then took a long drag of his beer. Then he turned his attention to his hot dog while he tried to tune out Ellie and James' voices. There was something about the guy that he didn't like, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The game started after the singing of the national anthem and the ceremonial first pitch.

"GO ELLSBURY!" Ellie yelled as her fellow Oregonian stepped up to the plate. It was followed a few moments later with a "Damnit!" when he struck out.

"You like baseball?" James asked Ellie.

"I love it," Ellie replied and then cheered loudly as Victorino hit a double.

"She loves football, too," Chris offered. "She's a big sports fan."

"I am," Ellie agreed. "COME ON PEDORIA!"

"That's cool," James said. "I -"

"YES! SAFE!" Ellie, Chris and Scott cheered as Pedoria was called safe at first.

"I don't follow many sports," James continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "I prefer to surf."

The other three cheered again as the Red Sox scored the first run of the game after a hit from Napoli.

It took James a couple more interrupted attempts to realize that he had to wait until between batters to talk to Ellie without her being distracted. As soon as the top of the inning ended, he had her laughing again.

"I can't believe how well they're hitting it off," Scott whispered to him. "I love hearing her laugh like that."

"She laughs with us that way," Chris muttered. He wouldn't admit that he'd much rather be back at the house sitting on the couch next to Ellie watching the game. He heard Ellie let out a snort of laughter and frowned. "I'm going to the bathroom."

The bathroom trip took longer than he'd planned after he stopped to buy a beer and then met a dozen or so fans. It was only thanks to a security guard that he got away from the fans and made his way back to their seats.

His spirits were lifted when he saw Ellie and Scott both standing up as if looking for him. He gave a slight wave and saw relief spread across their faces.

"We weren't sure what had happened to you," Ellie said as he sat down.

"I got spotted," Chris replied with a shrug. "What did I miss?"

"The entire third and fourth innings," Ellie replied. "We're up 3 to 1."

A shout went up around them and Ellie turned to see the guy in front of them jumping in the air with his beer in one hand as he tried to grab the foul ball that had come their way.

Ellie squealed as warm, sticky beer rained down on her. The brim of her hat kept the liquid from hitting her in the face but it created a waterfall effect that made the liquid cascade down onto her shirt.

"Oh my god," the guy said as he realized what had happened. "I am so -"

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" James shouted interrupting the guy. He too had gotten hit by the beer, but nothing like the dousing that Ellie had gotten. "YOU FUCKING RUINED MY $500 LOAFERS, YOU COMPLETE CU-"

"JAMES!" Ellie exclaimed over his vulgar word choice.

"I HOPE YOU HAVE YOUR GOD DAMN CHECKBOOK," James continued his rant at the fan in front of them.

The rant continued until a security guard arrived to intervene. They took in the situation and then told James to grab his stuff so he could be escorted from the premises. The fans around them cheered as James continued to rant and rave as three security guards led him up the stairs to the main concourse.

"Scott, I'm sorry, but your friend is a complete douche bag," Ellie said as she tugged on her rapidly drying, sticky clothes. "God, what did I even see in him?" She shuddered. "No wonder I'm freaking single if I'm attracted to assholes like that."

"I had no idea," Scott said, still in shock himself.

"At least you know now," the fan said from in front of them. "I'd feel sorry for ruining your date, but given what just happened, I think I did you a favor."

"It wasn't a date, but I agree!" Ellie laughed. "And honestly, it's ok, it's baseball. I'm just surprised I'm not covered in crackerjacks, too."

"You should probably go try and clean up," Chris told her. He kept his face somber even though he felt like tap dancing inside. "Use the credit card I gave you to buy yourself a new shirt."

"Are you sure?" Ellie asked him.

"Absolutely," Chris nodded.

"Thanks Chris," Ellie smiled. She scrunched up her face as she stood up. "God, I feel disgusting." She inched past them and then headed up the stairs.

Chris fought back a smile as he brought his beer to his lips and took a sip.

"Are you smiling right now?" his brother asked.

Chris lowered his beer and shrugged.

Scott shook his head while smiling to himself in his head.

Ellie returned fifteen minutes later looking more comfortable in a hot pink Dodger's shirt.

"They didn't have anything Red Sox," she explained to the brothers at their shocked faces. She pulled out some Wet Ones and quickly wiped down her seat to get the beer off of it before she sat back down. "So what did I miss?"

"We scored twice," Chris told her.

"Excellent," Ellie smiled at him. "Ok, next time the beer guy comes, I so need one."

They had a couple more beers each as the late afternoon became evening.

When the top of the eighth ended, Ellie leaned back in her seat and sighed. "I want to go to Fenway someday," she said. "I loved 'Sweet Carolina' long before I was a Red Sox fan, but I want to be in the stands and single along with everyone."

"We'll get you out there someday," Chris promised her. "And you know Ma won't let you stay anywhere but with her."

"That would be awesome," Ellie said with a smile.

The game ended an inning and a half later with the Red Sox winning 8 to 1. They stayed in their seats for a while to let everyone else rush out of the ball park before they made their way out of the stadium.

Knowing that it would take them forever to get a cab after the game, Chris had arranged for a car to pick them up. It took them a few minutes to find it, but they were inside and on the way home in no time.

"You guys are the best," Ellie yawned as she leaned back in her seat. "Gah, it feels so much later than 8:30."

"It's the sun," Chris said. "It takes a lot out of you. You can rest your head on my shoulder, if you'd like."

"Thanks," Ellie smiled. She nestled up against his side and laid her head on his shoulder. "You smell way better than that jackass did. He smelled like he bathed in his cologne, but I like the way you put yours on. I can smell only smell it now that I'm super close to you."

"How many beers did you have today, Ellie?" Scott chuckled.

Ellie opened her eyes and stared at him in horror. "Oh my god, please tell me I did not just say all that out loud."

"You did," Chris told her. "But I've sniffed you before, so I guess we're even."

"Wait, you've what?" Scott asked.

"Nothing," Chris and Ellie said together.

"You had to be there," Chris told his brother. He yawned. "I think Ellie has the right idea though, I'm exhausted."

Scott watched as his brother closed his eyes and Ellie followed suit. He took his phone out of his pocket and sent Isabelle a text with a 'thumbs up' emoji.


	16. Episode 9: Kick Off Sunday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in September 2013 and is Chris's annual NFL kick off party.

_September 8, 2013_

Ellie awoke to the sound of someone knocking on the door of the guesthouse. Yawning, she glanced at the clock on her bedside table and frowned when she saw it was 6:30 in the morning. Pulling herself out of bed, she grabbed her phone and pulled up Chris's contact information, just in case she had to call him.

When she'd first moved into the guesthouse, Chris's mom, Lisa, had assured her that the only way for someone to get to the guesthouse, without going through the house, was to scale the seven foot security fence that surrounded the house. Lisa had also mentioned that the fence was one that the slightest change in pressure against it would cause the security alarm to go off.

Since no alarms were going off, Ellie proceeded with caution as she rounded the corner to answer the door. She knew Scott had stayed the night, but she couldn't see any reason why he or Chris would be out of bed before eight.

"Come on, Ellie," she heard Chris call from outside. "Hurry up and answer the door."

Turning on the light in the main part of the guesthouse, Ellie walked across the room and opened the door. "What the hell, Chris?" she demanded.

"Good morning to you, too," he replied. "I'm here for your TV and cable box."

"You know it's 6:30 in the morning, right?" she asked as she stepped aside to let him into the guesthouse.

"Yeah and people will be here in like three hours," Chris replied. "I'm surprised you weren't up already."

As Ellie watched, he bent down in front of the TV stand and began to unhook the cables. As he worked, she couldn't help but notice the way his plain t-shirt pulled against the muscles in his back or the way his ass fit perfectly into his jeans. She'd gotten an eye full the first day they'd met, but there was something so sexy about the way his clothes fit him. As she checked him out, her mind worked through what he'd said.

"Wait! Did you say people were going to be here in three hours?" she asked, pulling her eyes from his backside.

"Yup, first games start at ten," Chris replied as he pulled the cable box free.

"I thought this was an afternoon thing," she stated. They had talked about the party briefly, but apparently she hadn't asked enough questions.

"It's an _all_ day thing," Chris replied as he freed the TV. "Some people stay for the whole thing, but others just come and go when their team is playing."

"Are you serious?! Chris, you didn't tell me that part," Ellie sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "I still have a lot of cleaning to do. I thought I had time this morning."

"There's still time," Chris said as he collected the wires. "Scott and I can help once we get the different game watching areas setup." He picked up the TV and the cable box then made his way to the door. "Can you open the door for me?"

Ellie opened the door and watched as he made his way out. She opened her mouth to say something, but Scott's voice floated down from the upper deck, "Ask her about the cinnamon rolls."

Ellie's brows furrowed and she looked at Chris, daring him to ask her to make cinnamon rolls in addition to cleaning for a party he hadn't bothered to explain to her completely.

"I'll send him out for donuts," Chris told her, shifting uneasily. "And I'll bring in someone to clean the house top to bottom tomorrow so you don't have to stress over that part, too."

"I'm going to take a shower," she told Chris. "But I hadn't started cleaning any of the bathrooms. You and your brother are in charge of those and I will be checking them and I will make you do them again if they are bad."

"We'll take care of them," Chris told her. "Make a list, we'll get everything done to your satisfaction, I promise."

"Good," Ellie said. "And Chris?"

"Yes?" he asked.

"Don't ever do this to me again," she said, narrowing her eyes. "The party or the knocking on my door at 6:30 in the morning."

Chris nodded and then chuckled. "Understood," he said.

Closing the door, Ellie turned on the light in her bedroom as she entered. She smiled when she saw that Daisy was still under the covers of the bed and snoring away happily. "Lucky girl," she muttered.

Heading into the bathroom she turned on the shower, letting the water heat up while she undressed. Stepping into the shower, a few minutes later, she closed her eyes and the hot water cascade over her.

Typically when she showered in the morning, her mind went through the mental list of things that she had to do that day. She was caught off guard, therefore, when it was the image of Chris dismantling her TV that came to her mind.

Chris was an attractive man, she'd be lying to herself if she denied that, but he was first and foremost her boss. If anything happened between them, it would make for an awkward situation not to mention she'd probably lose her job. Not that she thought anything ever would happen between them; she was a nobody in his movie star world and was about five inches shorter and fifty pounds heavier than his "type" of date.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts about Chris, Ellie refocused on her list of things to do in the remaining hours before Chris's party started. By the time she was finished with her shower and dressed, she had a mental list of what still needed to be done. She quickly jotted the list down on a piece of paper and then led Daisy out of the guesthouse. The dog did her business and Ellie promptly dealt with it then the two of them headed into the house.

They found Chris in the kitchen scrambling eggs for breakfast.

"I'm sorry for not telling you the full extent of the party or that I was even having a party before my friends told you," he said as he set a plate of steaming hot eggs on the counter for her and then poured her a cup of coffee.

"You talked to your mom, didn't you?" Ellie smirked as she picked up her fork.

"Yeah, I had to ask her where she put the coffee urns," he replied, gesturing to the two large coffee pots sitting on the back counter. "Scott didn't know I was on the phone and he sort of outed me on the fact that I hadn't told you everything. Mom read me the riot act."

"Good," Ellie replied. "Thank you for the eggs, they are delicious."

"Scott and I got all the TV's setup and I just sent him out to get donuts. I didn't tell him that we were going to help you clean yet, so he should be back soon," Chris told her. "So until people get here, we're your assistants."

By the time Ellie finished eating, Scott had returned with two dozen donuts and had been informed that he was to help with the cleaning as well. He pouted, but didn't argue. They divided the list up in three and then got to work cleaning.

With the three of them working they were finished by a quarter til nine, allowing them each the opportunity to shower and change into their football watching gear. The brothers both put on their favorite Patriots shirts while Ellie opted for her favorite Seattle Seahawks shirt.

When they reconvened in the kitchen Scott made Chris and Ellie take a photo with their backs to the camera because Chris was wearing his #12 Tom Brady shirt and Ellie was wearing her #12 Fan shirt.

The first people to arrive at the party were Chris's former roommates and their wives that Ellie had met at the wedding. They each greeted her by name and gave her a hug then teased Chris about her being a Seahawks fan.

"Pratt is going to be sad he missed this year's party," the one she remembered as Chucky laughed. "Chris Pratt and his wife Anna Faris are big Seahawks fans. They're going to love you."

"Anna can't wait to meet her," Scott announced.

Ellie turned to look at him with a confused look. "How does Anna Faris know about me?" she asked.

"We were texting the other day and you came up," Scott shrugged.

Before Ellie could ask how she'd come up in a conversation between Scott and Anna the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of more people. Ellie followed the first group into the kitchen and smiled when she saw the wives of Chris's former roommates take control of the kitchen.

They were five minutes into it when Kady Locke, the bride from the wedding, stopped and looked at Ellie. "Ellie, I've just realized, we've taken over your kitchen, I'm so -"

"That's ok, honestly," Ellie assured her with a smile. "It's Chris's kitchen and you four look like you know what you're doing. Just let me know if I can help with anything."

They soon had her working alongside them getting the "breakfast" portion of their snack bar ready. They had everything set out on the table in the kitchen and called the guys up from downstairs just before game time.

"So what do you four do during the game?" Ellie asked.

"We usually end up in the living room doing more talking than watching," Tessa shrugged. "You're welcome to join us, if you'd like."

"You're not going to watch the game with me?" Ellie turned and found Chris standing behind her, a full plate of breakfast-type foods in his hand.

"I hadn't decided yet," Ellie replied with a shrug. "Might be a little too rowdy down there with all of you guys."

"Says the one that started jumping up and down on the couch last night when her team scored a touchdown," Scott stated with a grin.

Ellie shrugged and then said, "Besides, my team is playing right now, too."

"Yeah, but by watching the Patriots you can see what a real quarterback looks like," Chris taunted.

An "oooh" sounded through the room and Ellie crossed her arms over her chest. "We'll see who is laughing when the Seahawks make it to the Super Bowl at the end of this season because of Russell Wilson while you and Tom Brady are at home crying," she sassed. She then turned to the room at large. "And when this happens, you are all invited to the party here. Chris will be supplying everything."

"Alright," Chris said with a wicked grin. "When the Patriots go to the Super Bowl this year, we'll have a party as well. And Ellie can cry her eyes out while she is making a bunch of Patriots themed desserts and other food."

"Deal," Ellie replied and held her hand out. They shook hands.

"I guess we know what two games we'll be watching downstairs," Brock Alexander stated.

The guys filed downstairs with their food and Ellie and the other ladies put food on their plates.

"We'll come downstairs with you," Gloria Gomez told Ellie. "We really like you and we think you're perfect for Chris."

"You guys know that Chris and I -" Ellie started, but shouts from downstairs alerted them to the start of the games.

Ellie and the others made their way downstairs and she was surprised to see how Chris had transformed the room so it was possible to watch two different games on side-by-side TV's. He'd also set up extra chairs for people to sit on. The appearance of the wives and Ellie led to a chair shuffle so the couples could sit with each other which meant Ellie found herself seated on a sofa between Chris and Scott. In a well-practiced fashion, the brothers leaned forward and pulled the coffee table closer to the couch so Ellie could rest her feet on it.

The Patriots game was showing on one TV while the Seahawks game was on the other and the games couldn't have been more different. The Patriots had their fans cheering as they finished the first half up 17 to 14 and Chris had rubbed it in Ellie's face that her 'Seachickens' were down 3 to 7 at the half. In the end, however, both teams won their respective games. The Patriots squeaked out a 23 to 21 win with a field goal in the final seconds. The Seahawks scored their first touchdown at the beginning of the fourth and held onto their 12 to 7 lead with a fumble recovery.

With the end of the first sets of games, a few people left and some more people arrived. While Ellie was letting people in through the gate and letting them into the house, Chris and his friends were helping the wives transition from breakfast-type foods to more lunch/dinner options. As more people arrived, the kitchen table filled rapidly and they had to put the party sized sub sandwich that someone brought on the island because it was too long.

Ellie had lost count of the number of people arriving, but knew there had to be close to fifty people in the house. Chris and Scott had set up five viewing areas in the house. The two TV's in the basement acting as two spots, the TV in the living room acting as a third, the fourth in the formal dining room and one in the kitchen. Since their team had already played and won, Chris and Scott moved from room to room, interacting with their friends that were in there watching.

After watching part of the game in the living room, Ellie made her way into the kitchen and started cleaning up some of the mess. As she was loading the last of the dishes into one of the dishwashers, Chris came in shaking his head.

"I'd wondered where you'd wandered off to," he said as he leaned against the counter to her left. "You do remember me telling you that I was hiring someone to clean this place tomorrow, right?"

"I didn't mind doing the dishes," Ellie replied with a shrug. "Besides, they charge by the hour. We'll only make them do the jobs we hate doing ourselves."

"Good thinking," Chris nodded. "So are you having fun?"

"I am," Ellie replied. "I really like your friends. Especially your former roommates and their wives."

"I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual," Chris chuckled. Glancing at her, he noticed that she had something in the wispy hairs that framed her face. "Hold still, you've got something in your hair." Turning his body so he was in front of her, he brought his hands to her hair and pulled the piece of fuzz away.

Ellie's eyes met his and she felt her stomach flutter a bit at the closeness. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Whoops! Don't mind me!" a voice said from behind them said. "You two get back to whatever it was you were doing!"

Ellie felt her face heat up as Chris turned away from her. She took a deep breath turned around to turn on the water in the sink so she could wash her hands. When she turned back around, Chris was gone and she was alone in the kitchen again.

She wasn't sure why his closeness had affected her so much this time around. It wasn't like they hadn't been in close quarters before; they'd already shared a bed twice and they'd been closer when they'd danced at the wedding reception. It seemed silly that a moment like the one they'd just had would be so different.

Looking up as she heard the bathroom door open, she groaned when she saw it was Tanya Kelley who had walked past them a few minutes earlier. The other woman sent her a wink and Ellie knew she was going to go downstairs and tell the other three ladies what she thought she had just seen.

Shaking her head, Ellie grabbed a beer from the fridge and then filled herself a plate of food. She headed downstairs and found a seat on the couch next to Scott, who introduced her to a few of his friends that had come to the party.

As the second set of games came to an end, a large group of people said their goodbyes. With one last game to watch, everyone that was left came downstairs to watch the game and Ellie found herself sandwiched between the brothers again. However, due to a fourth person being on the couch with them, they were tucked tightly together and Ellie found herself pressed tightly against Chris, who ended up slipping his arm around her shoulders to give them both more space.

The fluttering in her stomach came back and instead of paying attention to the game, she was distracted by the scent that was uniquely him. She didn't dare close her eyes, knowing that when she did the images from this morning, and likely the first time they'd met, would come forward and that was the last thing she needed in a room full of people.

When halftime rolled around, Ellie was pulled out of her distraction by Chris standing up to say goodbye to a few people that had decided to leave early. Their leaving meant there was room for everyone and they no longer had to fit four people on their couch. Chris moved to a different chair to talk to a friend, letting Ellie move over to make room for Scott and the other person.

After the game ended, nearly everyone left, except for Chris's old roommates and their wives. They helped clean up the house and helped Chris and Scott return the TV's and cable boxes to the correct rooms.

It was a little after nine when Chris, Scott and Ellie said goodbye to the others and then collapsed on the couches and chairs in the living room.

"I don't know if I ever want to watch football again," Ellie sighed.

"Are you serious right now?" Chris laughed. "I know for a fact that you got up at six am yesterday to watch College Gameday Live and then watched football _all day_!"

"Exactly and I watched a bunch of football today, too," Ellie replied. She put her hand against her forehead dramatically and sighed. Seconds later a pillow landed on her face. Shooting up into a sitting position, she glared at the brothers who were pointing accusing fingers at each other. "You two are pathetic."

Standing up, she shook her hair and then made her way towards the doorway. Pausing in the opening, she turned and threw the pillow at Chris before taking off towards the basement and calling for Daisy to follow.

She made it as far as the kitchen before Chris caught her from behind and Scott tossed the pillows from the couch at her.

"TRUCE!" she cried out Chris's fingers made their way to her sides as if ready to tickle her. "I GIVE UP!"

"That was too easy," Chris laughed as Daisy barked up at him. Bending down he petted the dog and assured her that everything was ok.

"It's not fair when it's two against one," Ellie said, putting her hands on her hips. "Now, I'm going to bed and you two can go clean up the pillows you've thrown on the floor."

"Damn, she's bossy like mom," Scott muttered.

"I'll take that as a compliment since I know how much you love your momma," Ellie replied. "Goodnight you two. I plan on sleeping tomorrow so please resist the urge to bang on my door before 9:30."

"I'll wait until 9:31," Chris chuckled.

Ellie stuck her middle finger out in his direction before she opened the door to the patio and let Daisy out. She let the dog do her business and then they went into the guesthouse. She helped the dog up onto the bed and then got herself ready to go to sleep.

She was in the bathroom when her cell phone alerted her to a new text message. She finished up in there and then checked her phone.

The message was from Chris and said:

**Thanks again for all your help today. You're the best.**

A second message came in as soon as she read the first:

**Oh and Wilson might not be horrible. But he's no Brady.**

Ellie rolled her eyes and sent him a single text in response:

**Go Seahawks!**


	17. Episode 9.5: Girls' Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in October 2013. It features Ellie going out with her friends.

_October 4, 2013_

Ellie laughed along with her friends as they sat around a table at their favorite restaurant waiting for their meals to arrive. They'd each gotten an exotic, fruity drink to celebrate the fact that Ellie had been in LA for a year.

To Ellie's immediate right was her cousin, Phoenix Laraby. While they were only related via Phoenix's dad's marriage to Ellie's aunt and they'd spent much of their early teen years not getting along, they'd grown a lot closer since Ellie had moved to California. Phoenix was married to a dashing fellow named Kurt and they had an adorable one year old son that Ellie couldn't get enough of.

Next to Phoenix was Marlene Sofer, the manager from the coffee shop that Ellie had worked at before she'd taken the job with Chris. Marlene was the newest addition to their little group, having joined them on their first outing after Ellie had quit the coffee shop. Marlene was a couple years older than the others, but she, like Ellie, had moved to LA dreaming of a different career only to find herself lost in the shuffle.

Kira Pace sat on Marlene's other side and she had been Phoenix's best friend since childhood. She had been a bit standoffish with Ellie at first, afraid that Ellie was going to steal Phoenix away, but after a heart to heart, she and Ellie had realized they had a lot in common and they'd been friends ever seen.

Paige Anderson sat between Ellie and Kira and she was the person responsible for introducing Ellie to Veronica Sampson, the owner of the bookstore Ellie worked at. Paige had grown up with Veronica's niece and had worked at the bookstore while she'd been going to college. She and Ellie had met at the coffee shop and had become friends after talking about books and the literary business as Paige was an aspiring writer.

"Alright," Phoenix said, shaking back her blonde hair as she picked up her drink. "We're here tonight to celebrate the fact that my cousin Ellie has officially been a Californian for a year! So here's to the first and hopefully many to come!"

"Here, here!" the others agreed as they clanked their funky shaped glasses then took sips of their drink.

As Ellie put her drink down, she caught sight of someone walking towards their table. It took her a moment, but she finally recognized the woman as Kady Locke.

"Ellie!" Kady greeted with a smile. "I saw you when we came in and I wanted to say hi."

Ellie stood up to give her a hug and then quickly introduced Kady to her friends, introducing her as a friend of Chris's.

"Speaking of Chris, Ray and I want to have dinner with you two soon," Kady said. "We're both jealous that the others got to spend so much time with you at the wedding! Especially after we got to see you and Chris in action last month at that party."

"You'll have to check with Chris," Ellie replied. "I know he is going back east at the end of the month."

"I'll definitely have Ray call him then," Kady said with a smile as the waitress arrived with their food. "I'll let you eat. It was really good seeing you again. Give Chris our love." She and Ellie hugged once more before Kady walked away.

Ellie took her seat again and found four sets of eyes staring. "What?" she asked.

"Who did you say that was again?" her cousin asked with a knowing smile.

"She's married to one of Chris's former roommates," Ellie replied. "I went to her wedding with Chris."

Her friends exchanged looks and smirks. "What?" she asked again.

"She made it seem like you and Chris were more than just friends," Paige stated.

"We're just friends," Ellie insisted. "Ask Phoenix, she met him tonight."

"I did meet him tonight," Phoenix nodded. "And he is even more good looking in person." She let out a whoosh of breath. "That said, I can't deny that there was some electricity between the two of you, El."

"He was mad at me for not calling him when my car broke down after work," Ellie stated. "That wasn't electricity, it was anger." She'd gotten home late from work because the alternator in her car had gone out. She'd had the car towed to a shop then had gotten an Uber car to bring her home. Chris had read her the riot act about not calling him when she'd gotten home, which meant that she hadn't been ready when Phoenix had arrived to give her a ride.

"So why do his friends think you're together?" Kira asked.

"One of them thought she walked in on us kissing at his party last month," Ellie replied. "When in reality he was getting a piece of fuzz out of my hair."

"So what you're saying is that you have no feelings what so ever for Chris?" Marlene asked.

Ellie glared at Marlene as she tried to come up with an answer, but she was drawing a blank. She valued her friends too much to lie to them and say she had no feelings for Chris, not to mention Phoenix would call her on the lie. In the six months they'd known each other, Chris had quickly become one of her best friends. Sure he was good looking, but he was her boss. She couldn't afford to feel more for him.

Her phone alerted her to a text message and she stalled in answering the question to check it. She smiled when she saw it was from Chris.

**Our boys are up 5 to 2 after the fourth.**

She'd been torn when the Red Sox's first postseason game had been scheduled for tonight. Chris had promised to keep her updated on the game, but she'd worried that his anger with her earlier would make him change his mind.

"Who's the text from, Ellie?" Kira asked with a smirk.

"Shut up," Ellie replied, rolling her eyes. "Ok. Fine. I like him." The ease of that admission caught her off guard.

"I knew it!" Phoenix laughed. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing!" Ellie exclaimed. "He's my boss. Unless you want me to come live on your sofa, Chris and I can't be anything more than employer and employee."

"I thought his mom was the one that paid you," Paige stated.

"Exactly! That makes it even more complicated," Ellie sighed she picked up her fork and poked at her dinner. "He's just a really awesome guy. He gets me. He's just as crazy as I am about football." She shrugged. "But I'm not his type of girl -"

"I've seen pictures of the girls he's dated in the past," Phoenix cut her off. "You're ten times better than all of them."

"And that's why you're my favorite cousin," Ellie laughed. "But seriously. Chris and I, we're just meant to be friends. Nothing more."

"For the record, I think you're selling yourself short," Paige said, squeezing Ellie's hand. "And if Chris is really the guy that you've told us about, the one that the public doesn't see, he knows your worth."


	18. Episode 10: Red Sox Win!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in October 2013. Chris, Ellie and Scott go to Boston for the World Series.

_October 19, 2013_

Ellie sat on the edge of the couch, biting her lower lip as she watched Game 6 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) between the Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers. She, Chris and Scott had spent nearly every evening during the last two weeks in front of the TV watching the Red Sox advanced first through the American League Division Series (ALDS) and now through the ALCS. Tonight, however, it was just her and Chris as Scott had had a scheduling conflict.

The Sox were up 5 to 2 on the Tigers thanks to a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning. If they could hold onto the lead, they would advance to the World Series; if they couldn't, they'd be playing a seventh game tomorrow.

Chris sat quietly next to Ellie, his eyes focused on the TV just like hers. Both of their phones sat on the coffee table in front of them, each opened to a text message to Scott, who they had been taking turns updating on the game.

The eighth inning came and went in quick fashion, three up and three down for both teams. The Sox were just three outs away from going to the World Series. The top of the ninth started with two quick outs, but then one of the Detroit players got on base.

Full of nervous energy, Ellie let out a slow breath as the Detroit player took second base. She moved her hands from her lap and shook them out.

As she made to put her hands back in her lap, she felt Chris grab her left hand. He tucked it into his much larger hand and squeezed it. A shiver raced up Ellie's spine as her eyes moved away from the TV and to their hands. His hand was strong and warm, but the way he held hers was gentle and oddly comforting.

The sound of the ball hitting the bat met Ellie's ears and she yanked her eyes back to the TV.

"Foul ball," Chris breathed. "One strike away."

As they watched, the pitcher threw the ball and the batter swung, missing the ball entirely.

The roar of the Fenway Faithful echoing from the TV as Chris and Ellie both jumped up from their seats on the couch to celebrate after he let go of her hand.

"WE'RE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!" she exclaimed. She gave Chris a hug and then turned to grab Daisy by the face and planted a smooch on her dog's head.

"I should probably -" Chris stopped talking as they heard the front door slam close and quick footsteps above.

"I'M HERE! I'M HERE!" they heard Scott shout. He appeared on the steps a second later and cursed when he saw that the game had already ended. "Damnit. I ran for nothing."

"We're going to the World Series!" Ellie exclaimed. "I'd run for that and I hate running!"

"Can't say I blame you," Scott said and he held his hands out in front of his chest as if mimicking the size of her chest. "That must hurt."

Ellie flipped him off and threw a pillow at him. She made to lunge over the couch, but Chris grabbed her from behind.

"Let's celebrate together, shall we?" he chuckled. "Scott, grab us a couple beers, would you?"

"You can let go of me now," Ellie said half-heartedly. Truth was she didn't actually mind the fact that the Chris was holding on to her, his strong arms wrapped around her waist.

"Oh, right," he said. He let go of her and backed up slightly.

"I can't believe I fucking missed this game," Scott muttered as he brought over beers for them. "I am never promising to do something for someone during the postseason again." He twisted off the lid of his beer. "I missed a freaking grand slam. A grand slam!"

Chris twisted off the caps to his and Ellie's beers and then held his beer out. "To the Red Sox!" he toasted. "May they win the World Series!"

"To the Red Sox!" Ellie and Scott chorused. They carefully clanked their bottles before taking sips.

The three of them sat down on the couch and watched the clubhouse celebration and postgame interviews. In between that footage, the station showed the highlights from the game, which both pleased Scott and made him groan about how he'd missed the game.

As the footage shifted to the crowded streets around Fenway, Chris and Scott both sighed.

"Makes me wish we were in Boston right now," Scott muttered. "Remember 2004? We couldn't get tickets to the game so we went to a bar near the ballpark and watched it there?"

"You kept getting carded," Chris said with a chuckle. "He had just turned 21, like the month before. So he was super excited to flash his driver's license to anyone who asked for it."

Ellie let her eyes shift from one brother to the other. She knew it wouldn't be as fun if they went back to Boston while she stayed here, but it was their home. "Maybe you two should go back there," she suggested. "I'm sure your mom would love to see you."

"And miss watching the games with you?" Chris asked, looking at her.

"Not on your life," Scott finished for his brother. "Win or lose, you're stuck with us for the rest of the post season."

Four nights later, the trio once again sat on the couch, this time waiting for the start of Game 1 of the World Series featuring the Red Sox vs the St. Louis Cardinals. Thanks to the American League winning the All-Star Game, the Red Sox had home field advantage meaning that they got to host the first two games of the World Series. The next three games would take place in St. Louis. Since it was a best of seven games series, it would return to Boston, if needed, for games six and seven.

With all of Boston behind them, the Red Sox pulled to an early lead, scoring three runs in the first inning and two more in the second. Four scoreless innings for both teams followed the early scores and it wasn't until the bottom of the seventh that the Red Sox added to their lead with David "Big Papi" Ortiz hitting a two run home run. They scored one more run in the bottom of the eighth to take an 8 to 0 lead going into the ninth inning. The Cardinals managed to get a run in the ninth, but it was too little too late.

Game 2, the night after the big win, and Game 3, a couple nights later, were both losses for the Red Sox. In Game 2, they lost 4 to 2, unable to score after the Cardinals put three runs on the board in the seventh inning. After a day for travel, Game 3 took place in St. Louis and the Red Sox managed to tie the game up in the eighth inning, only to have the Cardinals win it in the ninth.

With the Cardinals up in the series two games to one, the Red Sox had to win at least the next three games to win the World Series. If they lost one game, they'd have to take the series to Game 7 to try win. If they lost two games, it would all be over for them and the Cardinals would win the World Series.

They won Game 4 with a score of 4 to 2, managing to get their runs early and keep the Cardinals from scoring. They took the series lead three games to two, the next night, after beating St. Louis 3 to 1.

It was during Game 5 that Chris brought up the idea of them going to Boston for Game 6.

"Do you think you can get the time off from the bookstore?" he asked Ellie.

"Wait, you're inviting me to go with you guys?" she asked.

"Of course!" Scott laughed. "Did you really think we'd leave you here by yourself?"

"Can you still get tickets for the game?" she asked.

"I'm trying," Chris told her. "But even if we can't, we'd still be in Boston and could be part of the celebration."

"Then yes, I'd love to go!" Ellie nodded her head. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow," Chris told her. "I'll go buy the tickets."

Less than twenty four hours later, Ellie sat next to Scott with Chris across the aisle from them as their plane landed in Boston. They'd flown in First Class and she had enjoyed all the free perks that had been offered to her, much to the brothers' amusement.

"Mom is picking us up," Chris told her as they made their way through the airport thirty minutes later. They had all packed in carry-on bags; her because she was only there for a couple days, and the brothers because they kept clothes at their mom's house. "Normally we'd grab a taxi, but mom insisted on picking us up."

"Obviously she loves you more than she loves us," Scott chuckled.

"I told her I'd bring her some new romance novels," Ellie shrugged then with a smirk added. "Extra steamy ones, too."

The brothers made sounds of disgust as they made their way out to the pickup area.

"That was just mean," Scott muttered.

"I thought you two had relationships with your mom where you could talk about anything," Ellie said, sweetly. "She doesn't tell you about what she reads?"

"If it's anything like the trashy novels you leave lying around the house, I don't want to know," Chris muttered.

"I see mom," Scott announced.

Ellie waited until Scott was out of earshot before she muttered, "Funny how those books always end up disappearing for a day or two and then reappearing in the strangest places."

Chris's face flushed slightly and he put his hand on the small of Ellie's back to guide her to his mom's minivan. Scott had already claimed the front seat by the time they got there, so Chris helped Ellie into the van then loaded their suitcases in the back. He closed the back and then climbed into the open sliding door.

"Hi mom," he greeted as he closed the door and then put his seatbelt on.

"I was just telling Scott and Ellie that I am so excited the three of you are here," Lisa beamed at him from the front seat.

While Chris, Scott and Lisa chatted, Ellie watched out the window as they made their way to the town they lived in. She'd never been to the East Coast before, but had always dreamed about it.

"Oh, I nearly forgot, Chris, you had a delivery this morning," Lisa told him. "It was from the Red Sox's front office." The others in the van stopped breathing waiting to find out where she was going with this. "As you know, you've given me permission to open such things for you while you're out of Boston."

"Mom!" Scott whined. "Just tell us already!"

"Oh, you do ruin all my fun," she said, shaking her head. "They've provided you with three passes for tomorrow's game."

"Oh my god!" Ellie gasped, slapping her hands over her mouth.

"Breathe," Chris chuckled from next to her.

"I'm going to Fenway Park," she whispered, constantly reminding herself to breathe. "I'm going to see the Red Sox play." She breathed. "And they're going to win the World Series and I'm going to be there."

"Yes you are," Chris smiled. "And Scott and I will make sure one of us catches you if you pass out."

A short time later, they arrived at the Evans' family home and it was everything that Ellie had imagined it would be: warm, welcoming and the perfect place to grow up. It reminded her of the house she'd grown up in and it made her feel a little homesick.

"I just realized I didn't tell anyone other than work that I was going to Boston," she said after Chris and showed her to the guest room. "I should probably call my parents at least. Maybe my cousin Phoenix, too."

"Go right ahead," Chris told her. "I'll be in the kitchen helping ma get dinner ready." Ellie quirked an eyebrow at his words. "Ok, so I'll be in the kitchen keeping the kids out of ma's hair while she gets dinner ready."

"That's what I thought," Ellie laughed.

After he left the room, Ellie called her mom and told her where she was. Her mom was excited for her, but reminded her to be cautious at the same time. They talked for a few more minutes before Ellie hung up and called Phoenix. Her cousin was thrilled that she'd gone away with Chris for the weekend, even if his entire family was there too, and encouraged her to take advantage of the fact that they were someplace new.

Once she'd finished her phone calls, Ellie ventured out into the heart of the house and found Chris holding his niece in one arm while having a sword fight, using empty paper towel rolls as their weapons, with his nephews. The sight made her laugh, but also made her heart tighten a little bit. He looked so at home with his niece and nephews.

Dinner was a loud affair with all ten of them around the large dining room table; another thing that reminded Ellie of home. Instead of feeling homesick, however, she found herself enjoying it. The four Evans siblings teased each other lovingly with the brothers even pulling their brother-in-law into the mix with a couple well timed jokes. He dished it right back at them and soon they were all laughing again.

By the time dinner was done, Ellie was struggling to stay awake. They'd gotten up early for their flight and the jet lag was catching up to her. She said her goodnights to the others then made her way back to the guest room. She showered and then got into bed and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

She slept in until ten the next morning and woke up feeling refreshed. She got dressed and then ventured into the main part of the house, finding it nearly empty as the kids had gone to school and daycare while Chris's sisters, brother-in-law and mom had gone to work. She found Chris and Scott in the living room reading.

"We were wondering when you were going to get up," Chris smiled at her.

"I was going to wake you up two hours ago, but he wouldn't let me," Scott told her.

"Mom thought you might like to go see some Boston sights before the game," Chris told her.

"I'd love to," Ellie nodded.

"Did you bring a heavier jacket than the one you wore yesterday?" Chris asked.

"It's my heaviest jacket that I had in LA," Ellie stated.

"That's what mom figured," Chris said. "She left a jacket out for you to wear today."

A couple hours later, Ellie found herself being guided around Boston with the Evans' brothers as her guide. She quickly caught on to the fact that their knowledge of history was a bit iffy and that she couldn't believe half of what came out of their mouths. Nevertheless, they kept her entertained as they led her through the Boston Common

When they came upon the finish line for the Boston Marathon on Boylston Street, they joined a few others that had come to pay their respects to those who had been killed and injured in the bombing earlier that year.

With a few hours to go before the gates opened at the ballpark, the brothers lead Ellie to the small coffee shop their aunt owned. Not wanting to cause a scene in the front of the store, they cut through the alley behind the shop and knocked on the backdoor. Their aunt must have been aware they were stopping by, because she greeted them with hugs and then motioned them up the back stairs to apartment she lived in.

Upon arriving into the small second floor apartment, they found a small tray of goodies and a thermos of coffee waiting for them. They each ate one of the treats before finding a place to lay down for a quick nap. Scott claimed the bed while Ellie took the sofa and Chris stretched out on the floor.

They slept for nearly an hour and a half before the alarm on Chris's phone went off. They took turns filling paper to go cups with the coffee their aunt had provided and then helped themselves to a couple treats before they said their goodbyes and thank yous.

Yawkey Way was already bustling with activity when they arrived at the ballpark and they joined the masses that had already gathered there. They got in line for some food and drinks then found a vacant space to eat while they listened to the live music and people watched.

After they finished eating, they followed the steady stream of people into the ballpark and made their way to their seats on one of the upper levels. Ellie kept her eyes open wide as she took in the sights, sounds and smells of the ballpark and the brothers ended up sandwiching her between them to keep her from getting lost in the crowd, Chris leading the way while Scott brought up the rear.

A Fenway Park guide lead them to the suite and Ellie was shocked when she realized it was the Owner's Suite. She plastered a smile on her face as she was introduced to more people than she knew she could remember the names of. Several of them asked how she'd become a Red Sox fan and she shared the short version. The fifth time it happened, Chris took pity on her and explained that it was her first time at Fenway Park and that she had been dying to go out and see the park.

He and Scott led her through the crowded suite and out to the outdoor seats. Ellie felt tears pool in the corners of her eyes as she looked out at Fenway Park. It was everything she imagined it would be and more. She could feel the history of the place and the nervous excitement that was building as the fans filed in.

As the game started, Chris, Ellie and Scott grabbed seats outside and settled in. It was a crisp 49 degrees Fahrenheit as the game got underway and they kept warm by clutching hot cups of coffee. The first two innings didn't give them much to celebrate, but the Red Sox scored three runs in the bottom of third and the ballpark was rocking.

The energy in the ballpark was sizzling just an inning later when the Sox scored three more runs to lead the Cardinals 6 to 0 going into the fifth. It wasn't until the seventh inning that St. Louis managed to get on the board.

Chris, Scott and Ellie sang along loudly with the rest of Fenway as "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" played over the loudspeakers during the seventh inning stretch. They sang again during the break in the eighth inning as all of Fenway broke into "Sweet Caroline."

As the ninth inning got underway, the Fenway Faithful were on their feet cheering their "Band of Bearded Brothers" on. The first two batters hit fly balls to left field, but both were caught. The Cardinals' final batter struck out swinging.

The crowd erupted as the final out was made and the game ended with the Red Sox winning the World Series; their third in nine years.

Chris, Ellie and Scott cheered along with them, tears running down their faces. Ellie gave Scott a big hug and then turned to give Chris a hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up, so her feet were off the ground.

Ellie stared into the face of the man who had become one of her best friends and let her eyes linger on his lips for a moment before she flicked them up to his eyes.

Chris licked his lips and then leaned in, letting his lips brush hers gently. He started to pull away, but she pressed her lips back against his. He lowered her feet back to the ground, so she could support herself, and then he deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue in between her lips.


	19. Episode 11: Happy Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in October 2013 and is how Chris and Ellie spend their Halloween aka the day after they kissed for the first time.

_October 31, 2013_

People were laughing and talking all around him, but Chris's focus was on the brunette across the room talking with his younger sister. He and Ellie both knew that she had been avoiding him all day, never allowing the two of them to be left alone in the same room together.

It had been less than twenty four hours since he had held her in his arms and kissed her a handful of times and he knew for a fact that she had enjoyed herself just as much as he had enjoyed himself. Even Scott had been happy about it, though he'd gotten tired of it quickly and had asked them to stop making out so he wouldn't lose his dinner. Ellie had socked him in the arm and they had all chuckled about it.

They'd stayed at the ballpark for as long as possible, even getting a chance to go down and meet the players. Chris had a photo on his phone of Ellie posing with Jacoby Ellsbury and had stood with them while they had chatted about growing up in Oregon and, ultimately, people they both knew.

After Ellsbury had moved on, Chris, Scott and Ellie had met other players and had even had the opportunity to pose with all three World Series trophies before they had left the ballpark. The city of Boston was still buzzing with excitement, despite the early morning hours, and the trio had gotten swept up in it all.

The cab ride back to Chris's mom's house had been expensive, but they'd gotten there before the sun had come up and had been in their respective beds for roughly two hours before the rest of the family had awoken. While Ellie had been allowed to sleep in, Chris and Scott had been woken up and chastised by their mother for getting home so late.

By the time Ellie had woken up, the house had been empty save for her, Chris and Scott. She had acted perfectly normal around the brothers until Scott had left the room to shower. Chris had seen the panic in her eyes when she'd realized that the two of them were alone and she had all but run back to her guestroom, claiming she had a headache.

Ellie had spent most of the day in her room "resting" and had only come out once the rest of the family had returned home from work, school and daycare. She had been quiet during their early dinner, but once the kids had put on their homemade Minions costumes, she had cooed over them, which had led to her discussing with Chris's mom and sisters about the costumes.

It had been then that Chris realized that _he_ was the reason the normally bubbly Ellie was being so skittish, but before he had been able to pull her aside to talk, his younger sister, Shanna, had invited them to go to a costume party with her. When he had pointed out that they didn't have costumes, his sister had informed them that no store bought costumes were allowed and that their costumes had to represent a pop culture icon. She had then pulled Ellie up to her room to find something for her to wear, leaving him to figure out his own look.

Scott, dressed unmistakably as Marty McFly, had come to his rescue by tossing an unopened paper towel roll at him. Chris had been confused until he had caught sight of the Brawny Man and realized he could pull off that look.

By the time he had dressed and returned downstairs in a flannel shirt and jeans, Ellie and his siblings had been waiting for him in the living room. It took one glance at his younger sister for him to recognize her as Velma from Scooby Doo, but his tongue had gotten stuck in his mouth when his eyes had landed on Ellie.

His sister had dressed Ellie in a short red dress, which was showing off quite a bit of cleavage, and had somehow created a red garter that she wore around her thigh. On her feet was a pair of bright red heels that raised her three inches from her five foot three inch height. Her hair had been pulled back into a bun as to give the illusion of a shorter hair style.

For one brief second, a smile had spread across Ellie's bright red lips and she had given him a playful "Boop-Oop-a-Doop" giving away the fact that she was dressed up as Betty Boop. Then his sister had said something to her and she had nodded and looked away from him.

Scott had been elected the designated driver and the girls had climbed into the backseat of his sister's car, meaning that Chris had had to sit in the front seat with Scott with Ellie sitting directly behind him.

Chris had hoped that he'd be able to corner Ellie at the party, but she had stayed by his sister's side most of the night. He was happy that they were bonding and enjoying each other's company, but he needed to talk to Ellie.

Taking a sip of his drink, Chris saw his sister point at the staircase and watched as Ellie nodded. She handed his sister her drink and then made her way to the stairs. It was time to talk, he decided as he put his drink on the closest horizontal surface. He waited until his sister had turned to talk to someone else and Ellie had started climbing the stairs before he followed.

\----

The memory of kissing Chris had been all that Ellie had been able to think about all day. She'd be lying to herself if she said she hadn't enjoyed it, because she had. A lot.

She didn't have to close her eyes or struggle at all to remember the way Chris's lips had felt against hers or the way his scent had enveloped her as she had been wrapped in his arms. It had been the best first kiss of her life and she had dreamed of kissing him again.

But with her minor hangover this morning had come the reality that Chris was her boss and she was his employee. Not to mention the fact that she didn't know if he was even single or not. She hadn't seen or heard of a girlfriend, but that didn't mean there wasn't one. Then there was the obvious question: had he really wanted to kiss her or had he just gotten caught up in the excitement?

Not wanting to have what she knew would be an awkward conversation at his mom's house she had played chicken all day and had hid from him. She had spent the day reading, pinning Christmas crafts on Pinterest and napping.

Ellie had briefly considered staying in the guest room after everyone had gotten home, but she hadn't wanted to be rude, especially since Lisa had been nothing but nice to her since they'd met. She'd come out of her room and had helped Lisa make dinner and had gotten through it without anyone asking what was going on with her.

  
That questioned hadn't come up until she'd been sitting on Shanna's bed while the other woman searched her closet for something to make into a costume. At first, Ellie had been hesitant to talk to Chris's sister about everything, but once she had opened her mouth, everything had sort of tumbled out. She hadn't specifically said that it was all about Chris, but she knew that Shanna had understood it to be her brother. Shanna had encouraged her to talk to 'the guy' as soon as she could, but she had also promised to make sure Ellie had a good Halloween.

Once Ellie had gotten stuff off of her chest, she had allowed herself to enjoy Shanna's company as they had gotten ready for the party. They hadn't had a chance to really hang out when the family had come to LA for the Fourth of July, but Ellie had quickly found herself bonding with the youngest Evans' sibling.

When they had arrived at the party, Shanna had pulled Ellie around the room with her, introducing Ellie to her friends. All the while, Ellie had felt Chris watching her from across the room.

Feeling nature calling, she had asked Shanna where the bathroom was and asked if Shanna would hold her drink while she was upstairs. Ellie had known that venturing off on her own would allow for Chris to follow and she wasn't at all surprised when she came out of the bathroom and found Chris standing there waiting for her.

"We need to talk," he said.

Ellie bit down on her lower lip, but nodded. She hadn't wanted to have this conversation in Boston, but at least they weren't at his mom's house. She followed Chris into the closest bedroom and sat down on the bench at the end of the bed.

"You've been avoiding me," he stated as he grabbed the chair from the desk and pulled it over so they were sitting face to face.

"You're my boss," she said. "It makes things difficult."

"Ellie, I didn't kiss you because you clean my house," Chris said. "I kissed you because I wanted to kiss you. If we're being completely honest, I've wanted to kiss you for a while."

"You have?" Ellie asked, looking up at him with surprise.

"You're hot and you love football," Chris shrugged. "And you're funny as hell. You get along with my family. You don't take my crap. And I'm happy when I'm with you."

Ellie blushed at his words.

"But you've been avoiding me since we had our first kiss," he said. "And you've been really quiet. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"What?" Chris asked, shocked. "Of course not! Ellie, I wouldn't have kissed you if I had a girlfriend. I may have been an asshole in my early days in Hollywood, but I've always been a one woman man." He saw her soften slightly at his words. "I wouldn't do that to you, Ellie, I like you."

"I like you, too," she replied looking up at him. "But that doesn't change the fact that we have very different lives, Chris."

"Let's not worry about that right now," Chris told her. "I mean, we've only kissed once. Maybe we should confirm we have chemistry first."

Ellie bit her lip to keep from correcting him on the number of kisses they'd shared last night. "How do you suggest we do that?" she asked.

Chris scooted his chair forward until his knees were straddling hers. He lifted his hands up to her face and brushed the wispy pieces of hair away from her eyes. Then he brought his mouth to hers.

Fireworks went off in Ellie's head as she wrapped her arms around Chris's neck and welcomed his tongue into her mouth. Her senses were assaulted by the expertise of his kisses, the way he held her and the way he smelled.

When they broke apart, they stared at each other silently, grins on both of their faces. There was no doubt that they had chemistry.

As Chris watched Ellie's face, he saw her grin slip away and she started biting her lower lip again.

"Talk to me," he encouraged.

"You've become one of my best friends," she told him. "What are we doing, Chris? What if something gets messed up? What about my job?"

"First, the fact that you work for me is a separate part of our relationship," Chris told her. "I promise you right now, that you have a job as long as you need it. Second, you're one of my best friends, too, and obviously, I can't promise you that things won't get messed up." He took her hands in his. "There is a risk to everything, but I understand if you don't want to risk it."

"Can we take things slow?"

"We can take things as slowly as you want to," Chris nodded.

"Maybe we should start with kissing," Ellie suggested, a slight flush coloring her cheeks.

"Kissing is good," Chris smiled. "I like kissing. Do we want to stay right here, get on the bed -"

"No bed!" Ellie cut him off. "Slow, remember?"

"Right," Chris nodded as he spotted an empty spot on the wall by the door. "How do you feel about walls?"

"I don't think I've ever been kissed against a wall," Ellie replied.

"Well then, it's your lucky day," Chris stated. Standing up, he put the chair back at the desk and then turned and held his hands out for Ellie. He helped her to her feet and then led her over to the wall. "Push me against the wall."

Ellie giggled but pushed him against the wall. She squealed when he pulled her against him and kissed her. She wrapped her hands around his neck as they kissed and he let his hands rest on her hips.

After a couple minutes, Chris lifted her with ease and spun them around so it was her back against the wall. He licked his lips as he looked down at her.

"I like kissing you, Sarah Elaine," he stated before he captured her lips again.

Ellie sighed against his lips as she felt his hands slide up her torso so they were resting just below her breasts. Pulling back slightly, she met Chris's questioning eyes and gave a small nodding, giving him permission to touch her breasts.

Grinning, Chris leaned forward to kiss her again, but froze when the bedroom door was thrown open.

"We gotta be quick, Qball," they heard a guy say. "They're gonna start the contest -"

"Uh, J," the woman called Qball said, tugging on the leather jacket he wore over a white 'Sex Pistols' t-shirt that was paired with  a pair of torn acid wash jeans. "It looks like this room is occupied."

"We've been in here for a while, we'll go," Ellie said to the woman wearing a leather jacket paired with a leopard print crop top, a black leather skirt and torn tights. "His sister is probably looking for us anyway."

"Are you sure?" the woman asked.

"Positively," Ellie nodded, she pushed Chris's solid chest, but he didn't move. Looking up, she saw he was staring at the blond man. "Chris, let's go." This time when she pushed him, he backed up and then allowed her to lead him from the room.

Once the door was closed behind them, Ellie pressed her forehead into Chris's chest and laughed. When he didn't join her, she looked up and saw him staring at the door. "What's up?" she asked him.

"That guy, did he look familiar to you?" he asked.

"I didn't notice," Ellie replied. "Why, do you think you know him?"

"No, I don't think so," Chris said. "But I swear he reminds me of someone."

"Excuse me," a voice from the stairs asked. "Are you two in line for the bathroom?"

"No, sorry," Ellie replied, stepping out of the way for the woman dressed in a pair of black jeans, a red top and wearing a Wonder Woman head band.

"Thank you," the woman replied as she passed them and went into the bathroom.

"We should go downstairs," Ellie told Chris. "Your sister is probably looking for us."

"Yeah," Chris agreed.

As they went downstairs, Ellie kept her eyes out for Shanna and caught her new friend's raised eyebrows when she spotted the two of them.

"You want another drink?" Chris asked as they reached the bottom.

"Sure, but just a Dr Pepper," Ellie told him.

"Alright, I'll be back," Chris replied.

Ellie made her way to where Shanna was standing with Scott.

"I see you two made up," Scott said while a smile played on his lips.

"Uh yeah," Ellie replied as Shanna shoved a compact mirror into her hand. Confused, Ellie opened it and blushed when she saw that her red lipstick was smeared. The two Evans' siblings snickered as she quickly tried to fix the mess, but their snickering grew louder as Chris reached them since his mouth was stained a similar color as Ellie's lipstick.

"You need better lipstick," Chris muttered after Ellie had handed him the little mirror.

"It's your sister's," Ellie replied, sharing a smirk with Shanna.

"You aren't allowed to wear my sister's makeup anymore," Chris stated.

Ellie and Shanna laughed as the host of the party used a bullhorn to get everyone's attention. He announced that it was time for the contest portion of the night. There would be two awards: Best Representation of a Pop Culture icon and Best Nobody Knows Who You Dressed Up As.

The Best Representation of a Pop Culture icon went to a woman dressed as Boo from Monsters Inc. Chris was a finalist and, ultimately, the winner for the Best Nobody Knows Who You Dressed Up As award, which unfortunately, attracted a lot of attention to his being there and meant they didn't stay much longer.

When they got back to Lisa's house, they found her watching a movie with Carly and her husband since the kids were already in bed for the night. Scott, Shanna, Chris and Ellie joined them for the remainder of the movie and then stayed up a little longer.

Finally, when it was just Chris and Ellie left in the living room, she spoke up. "Let's play it cool for the next couple of days."

"What do you mean?" Chris asked.

"We're still trying to figure this out," Ellie said, motioning between them. "And I know that Scott and Shanna know, but maybe we should wait until we know what we're doing before we tell everyone else."

"That makes sense," Chris nodded. He was actually kind of relieved at her suggestion since she and his mom were good friends. The last thing he needed when trying to figure out the future with Ellie was his mom chiming in her advice, or worse her displeasure, about him dating Ellie.

"I'll see you in the morning," Ellie said standing up.

Knowing he couldn't kiss her, Chris grabbed her hand and kissed it before he let her go upstairs to the guest room.

\----

Chris, Ellie and Scott spent her last full day in Massachusetts relaxing around the house with Scott providing Ellie with embarrassing photos, videos and stories about Chris growing up. For each story Scott told, Chris countered with an equally embarrassing story about Scott, which kept Ellie in stitches all day.

Once everyone got home from school and work, pizza was ordered and they all piled onto couches and bean bag chairs in the living room for family movie night. Since it was Ethan's turn to pick the movie, they were all singing along to Tarzan. They called it an early night, after the movie ended, since they were all going into Boston, save for Lisa and baby Stella, to see the Red Sox Championship Parade.

They got up early the next morning and took two cars into Boston. One car headed straight for the parade route to save seats for the others while, Chris, Ellie and Shanna took the other car and went to their aunt's coffee shop to drop off Ellie's luggage since she was leaving right after the parade. They left their car at the coffee shop and walked to the parade location loaded up with goodies from their aunt.

It took Chris, Ellie and Shanna a bit to find the others, but once they did, they squeezed in and shared their treats. When the duck boats that the Red Sox players and organization members were riding on came past their location, Chris and his brother-in-law hoisted Ethan and Miles onto their shoulders and they all chanted along with the fans around them.

They spent hours celebrating with their fellow Red Sox fans before it was time to take Ellie to the airport. She said her goodbyes to Chris's sisters, nephews and brother-in-law, before she, Chris and Scott made the walk back to the car. She sat in the front seat with Chris on the drive to the airport and said goodbye to the brothers at the drop off area. It was weird to be saying goodbye to them, but they were staying back East because Chris was going to be filming (and directing) a movie and Scott didn't have anything lined up for a few months.

As she made her way through the airport, after checking in, Ellie smiled as she mentally relived the past four days. She'd gone to Fenway Park and had seen the Red Sox win the World Series! Not to mention, she and Chris had kissed. Multiple times. She still wasn't sure if it was worth risking their friendship, but she trusted Chris and only time would tell what the future had in store for them.

 

 _Author's Note:_   _"J" and "Qball" are Jake Jensen and Quinn Andrews from my friend Heather's Jensen and Quinn series from the movie The Losers, which Chris Evans starred in as Jake Jensen. You can read this excellent series here on[AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/heatherlynn22) or on [tumblr](http://heather-lynn.tumblr.com/Jensen&Quinnurl)._


	20. Episode 11.5: Winter Wonderland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in December 2016. Chris & Ellie spend some time alone with his family in the mountains.

_December 23, 2016_

Chris stomped the snow off of his boots before he ended the small guest cabin that he was sharing with his fiancée Ellie. They had come with his mom, siblings and their niece and nephews for a snowy Christmas getaway and the rest of the family was staying in the main house.

The entire family had spent the morning playing in the snow, but after lunch, Ellie had retired back to their cabin to warm up while he had stayed outside playing with his nephews and niece. He and Scott had taken them to a tubing park up the mountain from where they were staying and they'd all had a blast. Now, with an hour or so until dinner, Chris was back at the cabin to get warm, change clothes and rouse Ellie for dinner at the main lodge.

Not wanting to track snow into the main part of the cabin, Chris sat down on the bench in the mudroom and pulled off his boots. Then he stood and peeled off his jacket, snow pants and all of his other layers. He hung everything up to dry and then grabbed a hand towel from the stack of extra towels and covered his penis with it before he entered the heart of the cabin.

"Honey, I'm home," he called as he closed the mudroom door behind him. He smiled when he saw Ellie stretched out on their bed with a throw blanket over her and a fire roaring in the fireplace.

"And naked," Ellie smirked, looking up from the Kindle she was reading from.

Chris flashed his penis at her and then smiled as an idea came to him. Instead of going into the bathroom for a hot shower, he dropped the towel then ran over to the bed and jumped onto it. Ellie squealed as he pulled her against his cold body.

"Chris! You're freezing!" she cried, attempting to free herself.

"You should warm me up then," he replied, tucking his cold nose into her neck.

"I hate you," Ellie laughed as his cold hands slipped under her throw blanket and up and under both her 'Love' sweatshirt and the grey t-shirt she wore under it. "Damnit, Chris! I was finally getting warm!"

"So you know how dire it is for you to help warm me up," he replied. "You know you want to." He pressed his cold lips against her neck.

"You sure you can get it up?" she teased.

"Oh, I can always get it up for you," Chris replied. He pulled the throw blanket off of her and then tossed it onto the floor. He slid his cold hands back up under her shirt and growled when he discovered she was wearing a bra. Pulling back, he took in her fleece pajama pants, socks and slipper boots and shook his head. She was even wearing a beanie with a pompom on her head. "Too many clothes."

"It's cold outside," she stated. "I needed warm layers."

"I know it's cold out there," he pouted. "I need you to warm me up." He smirked at her when he saw her waver. "Besides, we both know why you're reading here in our cabin and not with mom at hers." He grabbed the Kindle before she could get it. "Uh huh! I knew it! Dirty books!"

"Give it back!" she exclaimed as he stood up on the bed.

"Let's see what you're reading, fiancée of mine," he said. He cleared his throat and then began to read. "' _Well, you’re being punished so no touching,' she said, grinding her ass into his crotch._ " His eyebrows rose. "Oh we're getting to the good stuff!!!"

" _God, he loved this game_ ," Chris read aloud. " _He slid his hands up the outside of her thighs and was rewarded with a hard smack to the forearm. 'I will get the handcuffs.'_ " His held the Kindle out of Ellie's reach as he smiled down at her. "This is some kinky stuff, El."

"It's from a new author I'm working with," Ellie replied as she too stood on the bed, her hands planted on her hips. "Will you please give me back my Kindle?"

"You're really cute when you stand like that," Chris smirked as he plucked the beanie from the top of her head. "You're really cute all the time." He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. He leaned down and captured her lips. She hesitated at first, but eventually gave into his kiss.

"Why are we still standing on the bed?" she asked, breathlessly, a moment later.

"Good question," Chris replied. He let himself fall back onto the bed and reached over to pull her down, but she stepped out of his reach. Eyebrows raised, he set her Kindle onto the bedside table and when he looked back at her, he saw her pulling her sweatshirt and t-shirt over her head, revealing a grey sports bra.

Ellie smirked when he whistled at her and she tossed her shirts over his face. While his face was covered, she quickly pulled her bra over her head and tossed it onto floor. She was untying the strings of her pants by the time he managed to uncover his face. She winked at him and then squealed when he grabbed the material of her pants and yanked them down.

Shaking her head, she lowered her panties and then plopped down onto the bed next to him, quickly chucking her underwear, pants, socks and slippers before she crawled over to him.

"That wasn't my first dirty book of the day," she informed him as she wrapped her hand around his quickly hardening cock. "That author, Alison, has many naughty books. It's kind of her thing." She ran her palm over the tip of his cock, spreading precum down the sides. "I was planning on jumping your bones tonight after dinner, but I suppose now is as good as later."

"I vote for both," he said, cockily. He moaned as she licked his cock from the tip down to the base. He reached for the back of her head as she slid him into her mouth and began to suck. "Fuck, Ellie."

Letting go of his cock with a pop, Ellie smirked as she climbed up his body. She pressed her lips against his and smiled against his lips when he flipped them over so he was on top. He made his way down to her pussy and groaned when he could feel the heat radiating from her core. He breathed in her desire and couldn't deny himself another minute without her taste on his tongue.

She mewed as his tongue lapped at her labia and she grabbed his hair when he teased her clit. Her fingers fisted in his hair as he slipped a finger into her and curled it up to reach her G-spot. Thanks to the build up from her naughty reading and his specialized attention, it wasn't long before her body tightened and then shuddered as she came.

Needing to be in her, Chris moved up her body and slid his aching cock into her cunt. Knowing they didn't have much time left, his movements were fast and furious. As he thrusted, her fingers slipped between their bodies and she began to touch herself, letting her fingers ghost over his body every now and then.

He came first, shooting his seed deep into her. He held himself in her for an exaggerated minute, trying to catch his breath, and then began to move again, trying to help her out. It took another minute or so, but she soon peaked, filling their small cabin with her cries.

Sweating, Chris collapsed onto the bed next to her as his chest rose and fell quickly.

Ellie cuddled against his side and they laid there until her cell phone began to ring. Reaching over, she raised her eyebrow when she saw it was his mom. She cleared her throat and then answered it, "Hi Lisa." She listened as her future mother-in-law nodded and gave Chris a raised eyebrow as she learned that dinner was about to start. "We'll be there shortly."

She hung up, a couple seconds later, after saying goodbye to Lisa and then hit Chris with a pillow. "They're all waiting for us to come up for dinner!" she exclaimed. "And we smell like sex!"

"Like really good sex," Chris smirked then laughed when Ellie slapped his arm with her bare hand.

"Get up!" she ordered as she got out of bed. She went to her suitcase to look for clothes and growled when she felt him wrap his arms around her waist.

"I love you, Ellie," he whispered against her neck. "You're just so irresistible that I can't help myself sometimes."

"I love you, too," she replied. "But you still have to get dressed. I'm hungry and we don't have any food in our cabin."

It took them about ten minutes to get dressed and bundled up for the short walk to the main house.

"I don't know about you, but I'm definitely going to need to be warmed up again after dinner," he teased. "Maybe we can read more of that book."

"We'll see how you behave at dinner," she replied, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "If you're a good boy, I might break out the handcuffs."

Chris stopped walking, forcing Ellie to stop too. "Wait, you brought handcuffs?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out," she replied with a wink. "Now let's get out of this cold before any of your important bits freeze and fall off!"

\---

_Special thanks to my friend Ali for letting me borrow a couple lines of her short story[Body Say](http://alievans007.tumblr.com/post/155378241237/body-say), a Chris Evans short._


	21. Episode 12: Super Bowl LI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in February 2017. Chris and Ellie got to the Super Bowl!

_February 5, 2017_

Ellie awoke as Chris came into their room of the hotel suite they were sharing with his brother in Houston, Texas. Sitting up, she turned on the light on her side of the bed, smiling when she saw him pulling his black shirt over his head.

"Hey," she greeted him. It was a little after three in the morning, but she hadn't seen him for a couple days. While Chris, Scott and some of their friends had been in Houston for a couple days, Ellie had only arrived Saturday evening. Prior to the Patriots making it to the Super Bowl, Scott had planned a bachelor party for Chris in Las Vegas, but the location had been changed to Houston since the two events were happening the same weekend.

"Hey," he replied. Walking over to the bed, he leaned over and gave her a kiss.

"How was the concert?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"There were free drinks," Chris shrugged. "I'm going to go take a shower."

Ellie nodded and turned off her light again before settling back into the mattress. It only took her a few minutes to fall asleep; only for her to be awoken again by Chris tossing and turning next to her an hour or so later.

"What's wrong?" she asked him. "You're usually asleep the second your head hits the pillow"

"Just nervous about the game," he admitted as he rolled over to look at her in the dark room.

"The Patriots are amazing this year, Chris," Ellie stated as she scooted closer to him. "I'm grown up enough to admit that, even though I don't like them."

Even though it was dark, she knew that had made him smile.

"You guys have one of the best quarterbacks ever in Tom Brady," Ellie continued. "Julian Edelman is amazing. LeGarrette Blount is a beast!"

"And a former Oregon Duck," Chris added.

"Which makes him even more awesome!" Ellie smirked. "This team has been through so much this year, Chris, and they've done this before! They may not have Gronk today, but Danny Amendola is back! Besides, there has been a different star of the game every time this year. They're a solid team from the starters to the backups. They've got this."

"Never imagined you'd be giving me a pep talk about my team. Especially when you claim to hate them."

"You know the only team I truly hate is the Dallas Cowboys," Ellie replied, shaking her head. "But the Patriots have grown on me. Don't get me wrong, I'm still not a fan, but, for your sake, I can stand them."

"You'll be a fan before you know it," Chris teased. "And when we have our first son, you'll beg me to let us name him Brady."

"Clearly the lack of sleep has gone to your head," Ellie said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, roll over then," he told her. "I always sleep better with you cuddled up close."

"Nope, you roll over," Ellie replied. "I want to be the big spoon tonight."

Chris sighed, but rolled over. He felt Ellie press her body against his and felt her drape her arm over his waist.

"This better not be a ploy to get into my pants," he told her.

Staring at the wide expanse of his bare back, Ellie took a playful bite, making him cry out.

"I don't need ploys to get in your pants," she stated. "You drop them willingly."

"Except tonight."

"Except tonight," she replied. "I still think it's -"

"Shh, I need to sleep," he cut her off. "God you talk too much, woman."

Ellie slapped his bare stomach with her hand as he laughed.

"You're a pain in my ass," she told him as she settled herself back down to sleep.

"Yeah, but you still love me," he replied.

They woke up eight hours later to the sound of the alarm clock going off. They had shifted at some point during their sleep so she was on her back and he was nestled against her with his head resting against her breasts. Unlike Ellie, who was wide awake thanks to the loud buzzing, Chris continued to sleep.

"Time to wake up," she said, running her hands through his hair. "It's game day."

"Five more minutes," Chris muttered, his voice vibrating against the soft tissue of her breasts. He buried his face deeper and swung his arm up to lie on her chest.

"You're awfully handsy for someone who didn't want to have sex the night before the big game," Ellie pointed out.

"Bad luck," he muttered against her breasts as his hand came dangerously close to her t-shirt covered nipple.

"You're a tease," she huffed out before she shoved him off of her. She climbed over him and shut off the alarm clock before going into the bathroom. She took a relatively quick shower and was almost done drying her hair when Chris came into the bathroom.

"Morning," he said then gave her a kiss on the neck since her back was to him.

"Morning," she smiled at him through the mirror. "Glad to see you finally got out of bed."

"Ha ha," he rolled his eyes and playfully swatted her bum. He crossed the room and used the toilet before undressing and climbing into the shower.

While he was in there, Ellie left the bathroom and quickly got dressed. She had a surprised planned for Chris and didn't want him to ruin it by coming out of the bathroom too soon. Since the shirt she planned to wear to the game was the surprise, she put it on first after putting on her bra and panties. She was in the process of pulling on her jeans when the bathroom door opened.

"Wait! Don't come out yet," she told him and he obeyed. She finished putting her jeans on and then grabbed the flannel shirt she'd stolen from his suitcase the night before.

"Can I come out yet?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied as she held the shirt closed with her fists.

"What was all that about?" he asked as he came into the bedroom wearing a towel around his waist. "I've seen and _tasted_ every inch of you."

"I have a surprise for you," she told him. "Consider it an early wedding present."

"Are you hiding it under my flannel shirt?"

Ellie bit her lower lip and then nodded.

Chris crossed the room in three long strides and gently moved her hands away so the flannel shirt was allowed to hang. He parted the shirt and then moaned.

"Do you like it?" she asked him.

"You're wearing a Brady shirt," he said. "Holy shit, Ellie!"

Ellie laughed and pulled the flannel off completely before she turned around to show him the back.

"Fuck," Chris cursed then stumbled over to the bed. "And his name is on the back and everything."

Ellie laughed and joined him on the bed. "Regretting your decision to withhold sex before the game?" she teased.

Chris could only nod as his eyes focused on the large number 12 that was stretched over his fiancée's ample bosom.

Leaning down, Ellie gave Chris a proper good morning kiss before she climbed off the bed. "You should get dressed, I imagine Scott will be texting soon to find out when we're going to get food," she told him.

Twenty minutes later, they left their bedroom and found Scott sitting at the table eating a healthy serving of pancakes.

"I got tired of waiting for you two," he said in between bites. "I got you eggs, Chris, and you a stack of pancakes, Ellie."

"You're the best," Ellie replied as she removed a lid from one of the plates on the table and breathed in the smell of the pancakes. "These are going to be amazing."

"I hate training," Chris muttered as he grabbed the last plate that was his eggs. He doctored them with salt and pepper then ate them while watching his brother and Ellie enjoy their pancakes.

"It just means you can drink more beer at the game," Scott told him.

"But not too many," Ellie told him. "I can't get you both back here if you're drunk off your asses. If it happens, one of your drunk asses will be left at the stadium and you can sure as hell bet it will be the one I have to share a bed with."

"Duly noted," Chris said with a chuckle.

In addition to her Brady shirt and jeans, Ellie was wearing a Patriots hat she'd borrowed from Chris and a pair of American flag Converse All-Stars. She completed the look with her favorite American flag fringed purse. The brothers were wearing matching Patriots logo shirts, but nothing similar after that. Scott was wearing jeans, a beat up pair of sneakers, a jacket and a backwards cap. Chris, on the other hand, was wearing a pair of black pants, grey shoes and his beloved NASA hat.

Shortly after they ate, Chris's friends knocked on the door and they had pregame drinks, courtesy of Jeremy Renner. They hung out at the hotel for another hour or so before Chris called down to the lobby to request a couple cars to the stadium.

They waited until they got the call that their cars had arrived before they left the room and used one of the back elevators to get to the lobby of the hotel as directed by the hotel staff member. Said employee was waiting for them when they got out of the elevator and they ushered them to a back entrance where the two cars they had requested were waiting.

It took seemingly forever to get to the stadium, but when they arrived they were led to their club seats by an event security guard. Upon entering the smaller set of seats, Ellie wasn't surprised at all when Chris appeared to know everyone. He introduced her to so many people that she stopped trying to remember their names or the number of times they asked to see her engagement ring. It helped that she and Chris had become experts at dodging the 'when's the big day' question, because it always followed the engagement ring question.

When the game finally started, Ellie took a seat behind Chris, letting Scott and Renner have the seats on either side of him. The mood in their section was amped up and loud as the game got underway, but grew quieter and quieter as the first quarter and, ultimately, the first half wore on.

With each failed drive, Chris's mood darkened and Ellie made him switch to soda and eat some chicken wings after his third beer. His mood got a little better once he had food in him and the Patriots managed to get a field goal as the first half ended.

While Lady Gaga performed, Ellie moved down a row to stand with Chris and wrapped her arms around his waist as they watched. A part of her wanted to storm down to the Patriots locker room and yell at the team for breaking the hearts of Patriots Nation, especially Chris's, but she knew she couldn't do that. All she could do was comfort Chris, so that's what she did.

Once Gaga finished her set, their group had a little pow wow inspired by the Twitter smack talk Chris had had with Octavia Spencer and, by the time the second half started, Chris was in a much better mood. It helped that the Falcons' first position of the half resulted in a punt, but then, so did the Patriots.

A string of curse words left Chris's mouth when the Falcons' scored another touchdown, making the score 28 to 3. After that happened, Ellie gave Chris the rest of her beer, knowing he needed it more than she did.

Nearly seven minutes later, their group erupted with cheers as James White ran the ball into the end zone, scoring the Patriots' first touchdown of the game. The cheers became groans and curses as Stephen Gostkowski's kick bounced off the upright. Meaning the score of the game was only 28 to 9.

The third quarter ended with the Falcons' punting the ball and the Patriots started the fourth quarter with a couple first downs thanks to White and Malcolm Mitchell, but then Tom Brady was sacked twice and they had to settle for a field goal.

Then it happened. The moment they had been waiting all night for. The Patriots' defense sacked Matt Ryan, the Falcons' quarterback, and he lost the ball. Dont'a Hightower and Alan Branch worked together to recover the ball for the Patriots.

Their joy was stalled when Brady was sacked again, but it revved back up almost immediately. With a little over seven minutes left on the clock, the Patriots made their way down the field with Danny Amandola going into the end zone about two minutes later, making the score 28 to 18. Then the Patriots went for two and got it! Making the score 28 to 20.

Cries of "Holy Shit!" rang out amongst their group as they celebrated the score. Nobody said it out loud, but they were all thinking that the Patriots might win. That thought grew stronger as the Patriots' forced the Falcons' to punt with just over three and a half minutes left in the game.

The Patriots' began their next drive as Chris, Ellie and the others crossed their fingers. Then Julian Edelman made _that_ catch. It had looked close from their vantage point, but as soon as they saw it on the jumbo screen, they all lost their fucking minds. They only got rowdier when White ran the ball into the end zone a minute or so later and then louder, still, when Amandola scored the two point conversion, tying the score up at 28! Not even the spray of flying drinks could dampen their excitement.

Ellie found herself a part of hand slaps and hugs as the fourth quarter ended with the game still tied. Silence fell amongst their group as the team captains walked out onto the field for the overtime coin toss. As soon as it was announced that the Patriots had won the toss, they all screamed; because of the [stupid] sudden death rules, all the Patriots needed to do was get a touchdown and they'd win the game.

With the precision of a well-oiled machine, the Patriots' marched down the field getting four 1st downs in the first 3 minutes. The fifth came less than a minute later thanks to a pass interference penalty. The final play of the game was James White forcing his way through the defense and getting the ball over the goal line.

They all held their breath until the touchdown was confirmed and then it was chaos. Chris was freaking the fuck out as he jumped up and down, celebrating the insanity that was the Patriots' win following 31 unanswered points.

High fives were exchanged around their group and Ellie squealed when Chris suddenly grabbed her around the waist and tilted her backwards, towards him, and planted a kiss on her lips. He laughed against her lips as she pounded his shoulders with her fists. He set her upright and then smiled up at her.

"We won!" he cried. "We fucking won!"

"I know!" she laughed. "Oh my god! That was a fucking crazy game."

"Still not a Patriots fan?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Well, they're not _awful_ ," Ellie smiled. She wrapped her arms around Chris's neck and then leaned down and kissed him.

"Ok, kids, save it for the bedroom," Jeremy Renner said, a moment later. "We've got some partying to do."

Chris took Ellie's hand as their group left their section and kept her close to him as they made their way out of the stadium via the entrance they'd used earlier. Instead of waiting for a car at the stadium, they chose to walk to a bar near their hotel. It was a bit of a walk, but they were all pumped up from the comeback win.

Ellie wasn't sure how it had happened, but they managed to get into the bar, get drinks and find a table in a backroom without people realizing Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner were in the bar. Their peace and anonymity lasted all of twenty minutes, before someone spotted Chris's stupid NASA hat. Word spread quickly throughout the bar and they eventually had to leave via the kitchen with help from the bar's staff.

Though the hotel was only a couple blocks away, they took advantage of two cabs that were dropping people off at the bar and got a ride back to the hotel. They were dropped off at the side entrance they'd left from earlier that day and used their hotel cards to get in the secure door.

"Shall we go to the bar?" Jeremy asked as they waited for an elevator. "They have those private rooms."

"Actually, I think I'm done for the night," Ellie said. "But you guys should go, I'll be fine by myself."

"Like he's going to hang out with us when you're all by yourself in a hotel room," one of the others stated before Chris could answer.

"Fuck you," Chris shook his head. "But you're right. I've spent too much time with you assholes this week and not enough time with my girl."

They were all laughing when the elevator opened. They climbed in and Chris hit two buttons, one for the hotel's rooftop bar and one for the floor where their suite was.

"Be gentle with him, he's emotional tonight," Jeremy told Ellie with a grin as he gave her a hug. Then he turned to Chris and slapped him on the back. "Congrats, Champ."

Chris's other friends and Scott said their goodbyes to Chris and Ellie as they got off at their floor. He held her hand as they made their way to their room and then held the door for her after unlocking the door.

The second the door closed behind them, Chris picked Ellie up bridal style and carried her into the bathroom off of their room. They'd both been showered in beer and other drinks during the excitement of the fourth quarter and there was no way they were going to bed smiling like a bar.

After setting Ellie on her feet, Chris moved over to the shower and turned it on. When he turned around, Ellie was in the process of undressing. He watched as she pulled the Brady shirt over her head and dropped it onto the floor.

A few second later, she was standing naked in front of him with her hands resting on her hips. "Are you just going to stand there and stare?" she asked him. "Or are you going to do your job, Evans?"

"Quoting Coach?" Chris laughed. "I'll make a Patriots fan of you yet!"

Ellie rolled her eyes and made her way to the shower. She stepped under the spray and closed her eyes as the water cascaded over her. Chris joined her, a moment later, wrapping his body around hers.

Unwinding himself from her, Chris grabbed the travel size bottle of Ellie's shampoo and squirted some into his hands. He forced her out from the water's spray and then began to work the shampoo into her mid-back length hair, doing it the way she'd shown him in the past.

Once her hair was lathered, he moved out of the way so she could rinse the shampoo out. While she did that, he quickly washed his own hair then traded places with her under the water.

Ellie squired conditioner into her hand and then used her fingers to work it into her hair. She was working on the edges of her hair when she felt Chris's soapy hands on her back. She rolled her head forward as his hands worked the muscles in her back as he washed her. She couldn't hold back a moan as his hands moved to her front and caressed her breasts.

He pressed his front to her back as his hands coated her torso and arms with soap suds. His arousal was growing with each stroke and he knew she could feel it pressing into her lower back.

Turning in his arms, Ellie took the bar of soap from him then started to clean his chest. Her hands moved down his body, soaping up his every nook and cranny along the way, until she reached his cock. One of her soapy hands wrapped around the shaft and she began to stroke him.

"Fuck," he groaned as his eyes closed at her touch. He stumbled backwards into the wall of the shower as her hands slipped lower still and cupped his balls, getting them nice and soapy, too.

Then her hands were gone and he opened his eyes in time to see her lowering herself down. For a second he thought she was going to continue the hand job, but then he felt her soapy hands moving down one leg and then the other.

"Turn around," she instructed, after a moment.

"Fine, but anything you do to me, I'm doing to you," he told her.

"Good to know," she replied, brushing her hands cover his plump ass cheek before giving it a playful smack.

She started at his feet and made her way up his body, taking the opportunity to tease both his cock and his balls from behind. After what seemed like forever, she reached his shoulder and pressed her bare breasts against his back. She slipped her hands around to his front and wrapped her hand around his cock, pumping him in her fist a couple times before letting him go.

He spun her around so she was facing the wall, a second later, and returned the slow torture that had been her washing him. He focused on her backside first, before turning her around and taking care of her front.

Once she was properly soaped up, he pulled them both back under the now luke-warm water and they rinsed the soap from their bodies. It took her a few extra minutes to rinse the conditioner from her hair, but the second she was done, he turned off the water.

"For someone with a habitual drying off routine, you sure are rushing," Ellie teased as he handed her a fluffy white towel. "Especially since I'm going to need a few minutes to get ready. I have another surprise for you."

"I can't handle any more surprises from you," he shook his head. "I've practically had a semi since you revealed you were wearing a Brady t-shirt."

"And if it had been a Brady jersey?" she asked then added, "With nothing under it?"

"We would have spent the afternoon in bed," Chris replied. "But you're naked now and I'm not letting you get dressed until we have to check out tomorrow. Brady jersey or not."

"I like the sound of that," she smiled. Unwrapping the towel from around herself, she let it fall to the floor and said, "Take me to bed."

"With pleasure," Chris replied. He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom where he dropped her onto the bed. Then he made his way over to his suitcase to grab the box of condoms he'd bought, but paused as he pulled them out of his bag. Turning to her, he asked, "How do you feel about trying for a Super Bowl baby?"

They had finally set a wedding date on New Year's Eve and the big day was quickly approaching. In an effort to start their family sooner than later, Ellie had discontinued taking her birth control pills after her last cycle and they'd started using condoms as their sole source of protection.

"I like that idea," Ellie grinned. "We're obsessed with football anyway. Might as well make a baby that will know he or she was conceived after the Patriots gave the middle finger to the commissioner."

"Fuck I love it when you say things like that," Chris muttered as he quickly made his way back to the bed. He climbed onto the bed and pushed her into the mattress as his mouth met hers passionately. If it hadn't been for the painful throb of his cock, he would have been happy just spending the rest of the night kissing her, but they had a baby to make.

Rising himself up to his knees, Chris smiled down at Ellie. Her eyes were sparkling with desire as she lay on the bed before him. Leaning forward, he buried his face into the side of her neck and began to make his way down her body, starting with kisses along her neck.

He licked his lips as his descent brought him her breasts. Before her, he'd been more of an ass guy and, while she did have a nice ass, it wasn't as fine as the large handful that was each of her breasts. He cupped them, loving the way they jiggled in his hands. He heard her moan as he played with her already hard nipples. Needing a taste, he swirled his tongue around one of her nipples.

Ellie arched her back as his mouth closed around her nipple and she bit into her lower lip as he began to suck. His large hand kneaded her breast as paid attention to said breast with his mouth. She let out a curse as his mouth latched onto the skin on the side of her breast and sucked, no doubt leaving a mark.

Letting go of her skin, Chris licked the red spot before looking up and catching her eyes. He flashed her a smile before he showered the same attention on her other breast and nipple. Then he continued down her body, appreciating her gentle curves with his hands and mouth. He loved every inch of her body, but loved what was inside her heart and her mind the most. She made him feel things he'd never felt in the past.

Growing impatient as he stalled at her midsection, Ellie slid her fingers through his wet hair and pushed down, hoping he'd get the hint.

"Trying to tell me something?" he chuckled.

"Just reminding you that you have a job to do," she replied.

"A fan-fucking-tastic job," he smirked as he leaned back and used his hands to guide her knees apart. He licked his lips as he set his eyes upon her most intimate parts. Knowing she'd had enough of his teasing, he went right to work, eliciting a happy sigh from her the moment his fingers came into contact with her pussy.

He treated her to random series of long, slow touches and quick, deliberate touches that soon had her rocking her hips. It wasn't long before he added his mouth to the mix, making her cry out as his tongue circled her clit before pressing against it deliberately. Eventually, it was his mouth doing a majority of the work as he lapped out her inner folds and teased the opening to her sex while he used one hand to hold her lower body as still as he could.

"Oh, Chris." Ellie moaned out as she sucked her lower lip into her mouth. Her body was on fire for him and she needed him now. "Please." She fisted the sheets with her hands. "I need you." She gasped as he teased her clit again with his tongue. "In." She could feel her orgasm nearing and knew it was only a matter of time before it hit. "Meeeeeeeeeee." Her body shook uncontrollably as she reached her climax.

She barely had time to recover from her first orgasm before Chris slid his hard cock into her. He fully seated himself within her then drew back, just as quickly. Their actions had been slow up until this point, but it was clear the need for release was at the forefront of his mind. There would be plenty of time for more slow and romantic sex later.

Ellie wrapped her legs around his waist as he guided himself in and out of her. Her hands found his strong shoulders and she held onto him, letting him control the pace that was bringing them both closer to orgasm.

The room was soon filled with the sound of their bodies meeting with every thrust and the moans and cries that escaped their mouths unconsciously.

Knowing he was just on the cusp, Chris slipped a hand between their bodies and touched her clit with his fingers. He'd seen a documentary, when and where he couldn't recall, that had suggested that a woman climaxing when trying to get pregnant could aid in the aforementioned goal.

As if programed, their bodies stiffened as one and their cries echoed through the room as they came together. His movements slowed as he guided them through the seconds then minutes that immediately followed their orgasms.

Slipping out of her, he threw himself onto the bed right next to her and stared up at the ceiling as his chest rose and fell in a slowly declining fashion. Glancing over at her, he smiled when he saw she was studying him.

"Best day of your life?" she asked him.

"For now," he replied. "There is day a week or so from now that will make this one seem like just another day." He took her hand and brought it up his mouth then kissed her palm. "You're all I need or want, Ellie. And I can't wait to promise myself to you for the rest of our lives."

Tears prickled in her eyes as she rolled over and nestled herself against him. In less than two weeks, she would become Mrs. Christopher Robert Evans, and, two weeks after that, the world would find out.


	22. Episode 13: Texts & Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode takes place in November 2013, specifically on Thanksgiving.

_November 28, 2013 - Thanksgiving_

In a quiet corner of her aunt's house, Ellie sat staring down at her phone, reading the latest text message from Chris. It had been just about a month since she'd left him and Scott in Boston and returned to LA and she and the brothers had texted nearly every day, Scott more so than Chris, but he always reached out at least once a day to ask how she was. Today, however, he had been texting her nearly non-stop and giving her the play-by-play of Thanksgiving with his family.

So far, his nephews had been caught trying to sneak pie and he'd had to change shirts twice thanks to his niece's keen ability to either spit up on him and/or have a diaper explosion when he was holding her. He had had to change his shirt a third time, he'd admitted, after getting in a wrestling match with some of his cousins during flag football.

Chris's texts had started about eight am and Ellie had responded to each one with a tidbit of her own or an appropriate response to whatever he'd shared with her. A part of her wished she was back east with him and his family, especially since she suspected that his phone call last week, in which he'd casually asked what she doing for the holiday, had been partially to find out if she might be willing to come out to Boston. If it hadn't been for her revealing that she was scheduled to work both Friday and Saturday, she was certain he would have invited her, but she had and he hadn't.

"There you are."

Looking up, Ellie smiled when she saw her cousin Phoenix walking towards her. "Here I am," she said with a shrug.

"Texting Chris again?" her cousin asked, nudging Ellie over so she could sit down on the bench with her.

"How'd you know I was texting Chris?" Ellie asked. She hadn't told her cousin that and she hadn't let her cousin, or anyone else for that matter, look at her phone.

"I can always tell when you've been texting Chris," Phoenix replied, rolling her eyes. "Ever since you got back from Boston, you get this silly little grin on your face when you are reading texts from him."

"How do you know they're texts from Chris?" Ellie prompted. "They could be from some other guy."

"Yeah, but they're not," Phoenix stated. She opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped when Ellie's phone dinged. She watched as her cousin brought the phone up and then saw the telltale grin spread across Ellie's face as she read the message.

Absorbed in Chris's newest text, which included a detailed description of the pie he'd just eaten and how he was trying to convince himself not to have another slice of pie so he wouldn't have to work out for the rest of the weekend, Ellie forgot all about Phoenix's presence until she was blinded by a sudden flash.

"What the!?" she exclaimed, blinking furiously as she tried to recover. Glancing at her cousin, she glared and said, "What was that for?!"

"Photographic evidence," Phoenix replied and turned her own phone around, showing Ellie the photo of herself smiling at her cell phone.

"Oh," Ellie said softly as she stared at the photo. Her cousin was right, she had been grinning as she'd read Chris's message. Her phone went off again and she looked down to see Scott's name. She read his message, but even she knew she wasn't smiling the way she'd smiled at Chris's message.

"So, tell me, favorite cousin of mine, what happened in Boston?" Phoenix asked and then narrowed her eyes. "And don't even try to get out of this conversation again. There is no one and nothing that needs either of our attention for at least the next thirty minutes."

Ellie sighed and raked her fingers through her hair. Phoenix was right, she had been avoiding having this conversation with her cousin, her sisters, everyone really. It wasn't that she was ashamed of what had happened between her and Chris, it was just that she and Chris had left things so open ended. They were taking things slow, which was the wise thing to do since she was in LA and he was back east for the holiday and getting ready to direct his first film.

"Ellie, talk," Phoenix encouraged, placing her hand on Ellie's arm to force her from her thoughts.

So, Ellie did. She told her cousin about her and Chris's first kiss and how it had happened at Fenway Park right after the Red Sox had won the World Series. Then she'd confessed to the fact that she had avoided Chris most of the next day, but how they had cleared the air that evening at a Halloween party and how they'd made out a bit more that night, too.

Much like the confessional she'd had with Chris's sister on Halloween, once Ellie had started talking, she couldn't stop. This time, however, she didn't hold back like she had with Shanna, knowing her friend was Chris's sister and therefore bias. Phoenix, though... Phoenix was her cousin and Ellie trusted her opinion. She expressed her concern over the fact that Chris was her employer, one of her best friends, the guy she liked and the fear that arose in her because of all of those varying relationships she had with him. Not to mention her own friendship and trust-based relationship with his mom; she didn't know how Lisa would feel about her dating Chris.

"Do you like really like Chris?" Phoenix asked, once Ellie finished talking. "I mean elementary school 'like like' like him." They both laughed at her phrasing. "I guess, what I'm asking is do you see yourself having a future with Chris? More kissing? Dating? Sex? Marriage? Babies?"

Ellie gulped at the onslaught of questions. She wasn't sure just how far she saw herself and Chris going; she certainly wasn't ready for marriage and babies, yet. But she had enjoyed kissing him, _a lot_. And she always had fun when they were together, with or without anyone else. She felt her face redden a bit at the memory of their first meeting and her first, and only, look at his dick. She knew personally that he was a great kisser and she couldn't imagine him being disappointing in bed.

She relayed these thoughts to her cousin, carefully not mentioning the fact that she had already seen Chris naked. As she spoke, she felt some of the fear leave her as she realized that she wanted to take that leap with Chris into the unknown. There was a chance that it would go sideways, but there was also a chance that she had met the man she was supposed to share her life with.

Before she had a chance to relay those thoughts to her cousin, however, they were called to dinner. She followed Phoenix into the dining room and found herself seated between Phoenix and a friend of her aunt's. It was during the usual “get to know you” conversation between herself and the woman, and interruptions from her aunt, that Ellie learned that the woman worked for a small publishing company. It was her aunt who had told her friend that Ellie had studied editing in college and had asked if they were hiring. They weren't, the woman had told them, but she had told them they often contracted work with independent editors.

That evening, when Ellie left her aunt and uncle's house, she had the woman's business card in her hand and a tentative job interview with the publishing company. She also had a more positive outlook on the future for herself and Chris. Over text, she was very open about telling Chris about the possible job and her aunt's busybody methods that had landed her the interview. However, she couldn't bring herself to tell him what she had decided regarding taking a chance with him. It just didn't seem like the kind of conversation to have over the phone when they were going to be thousands of miles apart for at least the next month, if not longer.


	23. Episode 14: The Most Wonderful Time of Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This episode is centered around Christmas time for Chris and Ellie in December 2013.

_December 2013_

It was with a mix of great joy and pure exhaustion that Ellie walked into the house on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Too tired to walk down to the guesthouse, she collapsed on the couch in the living room and closed her eyes. Thanks to her cousin who had offered to watch Daisy over the weekend due to the extra hours Ellie was working, there was no reason for her to even get off the couch.

Which was why she woke up six hours later with a crick in her neck from the awkward position she'd fallen asleep in. Still, it took a lot of strength to pull her exhausted body from the couch and make her way down to her room. Despite it being a little after two in the morning, she took a shower and let the hot water ease her sore muscles, before she got into bed and fell back to sleep.

After picking Daisy up, later that morning, Ellie spent most of the day cleaning and doing laundry, chores that had been completely overlooked in the days leading up to Black Friday weekend at the bookstore. It was as she was checking the pockets of her clothes that she came across the business card of the lady who she had met at her aunt's house on Thanksgiving. She hadn't looked closely at the card until now and was slightly disappointed when she saw that the lady worked for a publishing company and not a literary agency, which likely meant she had no use for someone who aspired to be an editor. Setting the business card aside, Ellie continued with her chores, quickly coming to terms with the fact that she would just have to wait for another opportunity.

During the craziness of her weekend, the texts between Ellie and Chris had been sporadic, but they often found time to shoot each other a message or two in the days that followed. It was a couple days in December, however, when Ellie's phone rang at just after eleven p.m. Curious as to who was calling her so late, Ellie grabbed the phone and stared at in shock when she saw that it was Chris. With a sick feeling in her gut, especially since it was after two in the morning on the east coast, she accepted the call and said, "Chris? What's wrong?"

"I'm kind of freaking out right now," Chris said and she could hear the anxiety and panic in his voice. "We start shooting the movie later today, well, tonight really, but that’s beside the point, because I don't know why anyone would trust me with their manuscript. I'm just an actor."

Ellie let out a mental sigh of relief that no one was sick or seriously injured before she stepped up to the task of helping him through his freak out. "You're more than just an actor," she told him. "Yes. You've acted all your life, but you've been studying your craft and learning from those around you."

"But directing?" he sighed his voice thick with tension. She hadn't seen him in this situation before, but knowing him, she imagined him wringing his hands and pacing the floor of his hotel room, likely to the annoyance of his neighbors. "What the hell was I thinking?"

"That you wanted to challenge yourself," Ellie said firmly, repeating the words he'd said to her months ago when he'd told her he was looking for a script to direct. "You have a great team around you, Chris, they trust you and they want to take this journey with you."

"Insane, every last one of them," Chris with a scoff that gave way to a forced laugh. "Even more insane than I am."

"You're not insane, you're just nervous," Ellie said as she pushed herself up into a sitting position on her bed, jostling Daisy slightly, who glared at her before rolling over and falling back to sleep. "You just need to distract yourself so you can get some sleep."

"You're right," Chris said and she heard him take a deep breath. "Ok, distracting myself." He took another long, slow breath. "Distracting myself... Oh! Did you send that lady your resume?"

Caught off guard at the change of subject so quickly, Ellie stammered, "No… not really."

"What does that mean?" Chris inquired. "You either did or you didn't."

"I didn't," Ellie confessed, biting down on her lower lip.

"Why not? That's the door you've been waiting for," he said, practically lecturing her. She was happy to hear a more positive tone to his voice, but not so happy that it was at her expense.

"It isn't though," Ellie said before defending herself, "she works for a publishing company and editors work with authors and literary agents, not the publishing company."

"But if she works with authors and literary agents then she has the contacts to forward your resume to," Chris countered. "Therefore, she has the contacts you need."

"You're trying to confuse me with logical shit and it's too late for that nonsense," Ellie muttered, rubbing her forehead. "Can't we go back to talking about your anxiety over directing?" Ellie pleaded before letting out a deep shy as the pressure of the situation began to wear on her. She'd come to LA to be an editor only to have her dreams of that career go up in flames thanks to her sexist pig of a boss.

"No," Chris said with a chuckle. "This is a great topic to distract myself with. That is what you suggested after all."

"Ugh, remind me to never tell you to distract yourself again," Ellie grumbled, slumping back against the headboard.

"At least not when we're across the country from each other," Chris said, smoothly. Despite their time apart, he was even more sure that Ellie was the girl he wanted to be dating. After all, she was the first person he'd needed to talk to when he had started freaking out an hour earlier. He understood why she was hesitant, however, and he didn't want to push her into anything she wasn't ready for, but there were some innuendos even he couldn't resist even on his best behavior.

"Or ones that require us to talk," Ellie responded as her mind flickered back to their kisses in October. What she wouldn't give to be with Chris right now, kissing his worries away. She cleared her throat, pulling them both back to the topic at hand. "Ok, Evans, give me your sales pitch."

"My sales pitch? What? … Oh, right... We were talking about you submitting your resume." Chris let out a genuine laugh that made Ellie smile. "I don't really have a sales pitch, I just think you'll live to regret it if you don't send her your resume, El," he admitted. "Like you said yourself, she isn't the person you're trying to get to hire you, but she’s an avenue to that person."

"If she even reads it," Ellie said in a negative Nancy tone.

"Then make her read it," Chris said with an overzealous amount of enthusiasm. "Send her flowers or chocolates or -"

"Something stolen from Chris Evans' house?" Ellie suggested, jokingly.

"Ha," he replied before sobering. "I've seen your resume, Ellie, and you've accomplished a lot. If this lady is smart, she'll take one look at your resume and know she has to send it on."

"But what if she doesn't?" Ellie said quietly, voicing her biggest fear. "What if the only reason she gave me her business card was because my aunt was nagging her to during dessert?"

"What if someone had helped her to her first job in the publishing world and she wants to help you? Chris countered, his tone part fierce and part compassionate. "I know I sure as hell didn't make it where I am now without help from people in the industry who took a chance on me."

He waited a moment, likely for dramatic effect, she thought, before he continued, "You're damn good at what you do, Ellie, and don't you ever forget that. We both know that selling used books and managing my house are not what you want to do for the rest of your life. Editing is where your passion is. I've never seen someone actually light up over a writing reference book like you did when you bought that book that someone had traded in."

"It wasn't _just_ a book, it was a first edition of -" she started but stopped when she heard him call her a nerd. "Hey!"

"Does it make it better if I say you're an adorable nerd? Hot even." Chris asked, thankful that he had distracted her from what he knew would be another hour-long conversation about the importance of that book. "Because you totally are."

"You aren't so bad yourself, though I don't think anyone would confuse you for a nerd, you've got too many muscles," she replied her tone turning a bit wistful at the end. "Lots of bumpy muscles." A part of her wanted to tell him right then and there that she wanted to try to be a couple with him, but that would put them exactly where they were now, nearly 3,000 miles apart.

"Nerds come in all shapes and sizes," he reminded her, biting his tongue to keep from telling her he'd show her his bumpy muscles again if she showed him her _bumps_. He cleared his throat and quickly tried to recall what they had been discussing before their detour. "Right. You're resume. You're going to send it to her, right?"

After taking a moment of her own to recall the conversation, Ellie replied, "Yes, I'll send it in the morning, if it will make you happy."

"No, don't do it to make me happy," Chris told her, shaking his head despite the fact that she couldn't see him. "Do it because you want to, because it will help you achieve your dreams. Because this is the job you want so bad you can taste it, because it's all you think about."

"Ok, I'll do it for me," Ellie replied, feeling somewhat inspired by his passion. "You know, if this acting and directing thing doesn't work out, you'd make a great inspirational speaker."

"Ha ha ha. No." Chris shuddered at the idea. "Gimme a script and tell me to play a superhero. I've got that. Tell me to stand in front of a bunch of people I don't know and tell me to just speak, you'd better have something for me to fall onto when I pass out."

"I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad," Ellie told him. "But I don't think you need to worry about a second job, or is it a third job, now that you're an actor and director?"

"It's too late to think that hard," he replied with a laugh.

Glancing at the clock, Ellie's eyebrows shot up when she realized they'd been on the phone for over an hour. "Chris! You need to get some sleep!! You're going to be pissed when your lead actor shows up with dark circles under his eyes!"

"Wouldn't surprise me, that guy is an asshole," Chris joked and then yawned. "But you're probably right…"

"Of course I'm right and you need your beauty sleep, too, Mr. Director," she snickered. "Even though all you have to do tomorrow is sit still and look pretty."

"It's a hard job, someone has to do it," Chris said in a self-sacrificing tone. Returning to a more serious tone, he said, "Thanks for answering your phone, El. You're exactly who I needed to help me through my panic tonight."

"I'll always answer my phone for you, Chris," Ellie replied, her tone also serious. "And I'm glad I was able to help you out."

After saying goodbye to Chris, Ellie plugged her phone in and turned off the lights. She slid under the blankets of her bed and whispered to Daisy, "I know he is worried about directing, just like I'm worried about this job… but I have as much faith in him going for his dreams as he does for me."

The next morning, before going to the bookstore, Ellie did as she had promised and sent her resume and a carefully worded cover letter to the lady at the publishing company. She still wasn't convinced that it would open any doors for her, but she'd promised Chris she would do it. Before pressing send, she took a picture of her computer screen with her phone and sent it to Chris and got an 'you got this!' in reply.

Over the next couple of days, Chris kept Ellie up to date on how things were going with the movie (good) and how he was getting on with the cast and crew (great). Due to his late night shoots, however, all of their communication happened via text since by the time he got out of bed, she was already working. The texts were usually funny things that were happening around them as well as encouraging thoughts for each other.

She was at work the day she got the email from her aunt's friend with a formal introduction to a literary agent who wanted to meet Ellie for a possible job. Before even replying to the email, during her break, Ellie sent Chris a text with a screen shot of the email, to which he replied with a simple, "told you so."

Once again, Chris was the first person she reached out to, a few days later, when she got into her car after the meeting with the literary agent. Way too excited to type, she took a chance and called him, hoping he was awake and available to talk.

"How'd it go?" he asked, answering his phone without a proper greeting. He'd known that her interview was that morning and there was an edge to his voice that told her he might have been more nervous about it than she had been.

"It was amazing," Ellie gushed as she leaned back against the car seat. "We talked about my goals and what I wanted to achieve as an editor and the typical 'where do you see yourself in five years' questions. But Chris, he said he was impressed with my resume and that he was familiar with a couple of the self-published novels I've edited."

"That's awesome," Chris said and, knowing him as well as she did, Ellie could hear the smile in his voice. "See, I told you. You should listen to me more often," he added, cockily.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she replied, rolling her eyes playfully. "I haven't even told you the best part yet."

"Well get to it then, I don't have all day!" he teased, sarcastically. Before she had a chance to tell him, however, he started humming the Final Jeopardy tune and then continued when she did start.

"CHRIS!" she complained while laughing. "Shut up so I can tell you!"

"Sorry," he replied attempting a tone of sincerity while still laughing. "I'll behave, promise." She said nothing, not trusting him at all. "I'm done, I swear!"

"He gave me a manuscript for one of his authors!" she exclaimed and let out an excited squeal, nearly dropping the phone as she did a little happy dance in her car.

"That's fantastic!" Chris couldn't help but chuckle at her antics. "Do you have a due date?"

"That's the thing," she said, her excitement tapering off. "He wants me to read it, mark it up and do my thing to it, but before Christmas. That's less than two weeks away…"

"I've seen you read an entire book in one sitting," he stated. "Which let me tell you, is an impressive and mind blowing sight. I have no doubt you can get this done in that time. Assuming, of course, it's not like a War in Remembrance length…"

"It's not, thank God, it's a little more than two hundred pages and double spaced," Ellie replied. "I've edited longer ones, but I'm kind of nervous, ya know? This is a real book and author. I mean, when it's finished, I could walk into a bookstore and pick it up off the shelf."

"You've got this," Chris encouraged her. "And when it comes out, I'm going to buy that book and make you sign it."

"You don't even know what kind of book it is," Ellie said with a laugh. "It could be a self-help book on embracing your sexuality as a woman."

"Is it?" Chris asked, hesitantly.

"No, lucky for you, it's not." She laughed. "It's a mystery novel."

"Whew, that was going to be an awkward purchase otherwise." He let out a sigh of relief. "But you've got this, Ellie. Editing was what you were born to do."

"Thanks for pushing me, Chris, I wouldn't have had this opportunity if it weren't for you," she said, seriously.

"Exactly and when you become the most in demand editor, I expect residual checks," he stated with a chuckle. "I know there isn't much room to work in the guesthouse, so feel free to use my office to spread out, if you'd like."

"Are you sure?" she asked, hesitantly. "I don't want to invade your personal space."

"I'm pretty sure we crossed that line on Halloween," he said casually, but the memories of that night and the kisses they had shared brought extra heat to his words.

"Which line was that?" she asked, flirtatiously. "When I pushed you against the wall? Or when you flipped us around?"

"Somewhere in the middle," Chris replied, lowering his voice since he was on set. He'd moved aside when he'd answered the call, but he wanted to protect Ellie and their, hopefully, budding relationship.

Feeling emboldened by his words, her meeting that morning and her desire to clear the air with Chris about her feelings, Ellie opened her mouth to tell him she wanted to take that step with him, but before she could get the words out, someone on his end shouted at him.

"Shit," he cursed into the phone. He pulled the phone away and she could hear a hushed conversation happening on his end, followed by additional cussing from him before he finally returned. "I've got to go, El. We're having an issue with one of the cameras. We'll finish this conversation later, good luck with the editing."

After hanging up, Ellie held her phone to her chest and breathed in deeply. Chris's support and refusal to let her give up on her dream of being an editor had only made her more confident in her decision to take a chance with him. It was early--way too early, if she was being honest with herself--to even be thinking along the lines of a definite future with Chris, but she couldn't help it. There was something special about the bond she shared with Chris and she hoped it was the forever, even if it was just forever friends, kind of bond.

In the week that followed, Ellie spent her free time working on the manuscript, which left little time for more than a few texts with Chris here and there, which ended up working out fine because Chris, himself, was busy with the final days of filming. There were times that she wished they could talk on the phone as she was trying to go to sleep at night, but she knew that they both needed to focus on their projects before distracting themselves with relationship talks. As she powered through the corrections and comments for the author she was working with, Chris acted and directed, which resulted in them both finishing their projects on the Friday before Christmas.

They exchanged texts the next day as they sat in airports across the country from each other waiting for their flights: hers to Oregon to spend two weeks with her family and him to Florida where he would join his family for the last couple days of their annual Disney World trip before they all returned home to Sudbury for Christmas.

By the time Ellie got to her parents’ house, in a small town in the Willamette Valley, it was nearly dinner time and the house was already full. Her younger sister, Riley, was home from college and her older sister, Sydney, and her two kids had arrived a couple hours before Ellie had. The only people who hadn't arrived yet were Sydney's husband and her sister Izzy, who both had to work the first part of the week.

After a dinner of pizza, Ellie retired to the room she'd shared with Izzy growing up and was unpacking her clothes when she got a text from Chris asking if she'd made it home yet. Sitting down on the bed, she smiled as she replied yes and then sent him a selfie she had taken with her niece and nephew earlier. They texted a few more times, including a couple pictures of him with his nephews in Disney World.

Distracted by the texts, Ellie didn't realize Sydney and Riley were in the doorway to her room until Riley cleared her throat, startling Ellie completely and making her jump in fright.

"So, how's Chris?" Sydney asked with a knowing smile.

"Good," Ellie replied with a slight blush. It had been during their last sisters group chat that she had told her sisters what had happened between herself and Chris after the baseball game and about the decision she had made on Thanksgiving. Her sisters had been happy for her and had teased her about it a bit, but Ellie had noticed that Izzy hadn't been herself.

It hadn't been until a private conversation between the two of them over the phone that Ellie found out that Scott had already told Izzy about the kiss at the World Series and the lipstick incident at the Halloween party. Her sister, and best friend, had been understandably upset for not hearing about those two incidents from Ellie herself. Things were still a bit touchy between the two sisters, which is why Ellie had offered to drive to Portland to pick Izzy up on Christmas Eve.

When it came to talking with her sisters, it was easier to tell all three of them at once than each individually, especially if you weren't trying to tell them everything. Ellie, herself, had been part of the post one-on-one conversations where notes had been compared to figure out what the sister on the hot seat had left out. She had hoped to avoid that situation, but clearly Riley, Sydney and Izzy had different plans.

"Have you told him you want do have sex with him yet?" Riley asked in the casual way a college student talks about sex.

"Not yet," Ellie replied before going on to tell her sisters how her attempt the week before had failed and how she and Chris had both been super busy. "It's the whole distance makes the heart grow fonder thing, ya know." She shrugged.

"But what if the other heart doesn't know it's supposed to be getting fonder?" Sydney asked with a sense of caution in her voice.

"Seriously, even I know that," Riley stated. "He's a celebrity. All he has to do is give a girl a look and he can bone her."

"Riley!" Sydney scolded as she quickly got up and closed the open door. "Little ears have big mouths."

"Sorry," Riley replied, sheepishly.

"And if Chris is out there 'boning' other girls while waiting for you to decide what to do about your relationship then I'm sending Garrett and his brothers to get your stuff from Chris's house and we'll have Izzy get a restraining order -" Sydney went off on an overprotective big sister rant.

"He's not boning other girls," Ellie cut her sister off. "Chris isn't that kind of guy."

"I'm just saying," Riley said with a shrug.

"Well you can stop saying," Ellie replied with a pointed look.

"And you could start saying who that guy in all your Instagram photos is," Sydney said, changing the subject and putting the fire on Riley for a bit.

By the time Christmas Eve rolled around, Ellie welcomed the peace and quiet of the hour drive to the airport. She loved her family, but her parents’ house was smaller now than it had ever been, especially since her brother-in-law had arrived the night before and there had been another shuffling of sleeping arrangements.

It was while she was waiting for Izzy in one of the designated cell phone waiting areas that the literary agent called her. The conversation was short and to the point: he and his client had been impressed with the notes and corrections that she had made and they both wanted to work with her in the future. So much so that he told her he had put in a request with the agency he represented to sign her as an independent contractor contract at the beginning of the year.

As soon as she hung up with the agent, she called Chris without a second thought. She was crying happy tears when he answered the call and it took her a moment to compose herself before she was able to tell him the fantastic news. "The author said she has never had such helpful notes," she gushed to Chris, repeating what the agent had told her. "She wants me to be her main editor and she already has another novel in the works that she wants me to read as she writes it!"

"I knew you could do it!" Chris cheered then jested, "Next time text me first so you don't give me a fucking heart attack when I answer the phone and you're crying!"

"Sorry," Ellie said with a giggle. "I'm just so… over the fucking moon right now!"

"I knew you had it in you," Chris praised. "You're talented, you just needed to have a little faith in yourself."

"This never would have happened if you hadn't seen it and had the faith in me that I didn't have," Ellie pointed out.

"True, but you did the hard work and I am so proud of you," he agreed, encouragingly. "How are you going to celebrate?"

"I don't know, you're the first person I told," Ellie replied still in a state of awe over the whole thing. "In fact, I'm by myself waiting for Izzy at the airport. And -" She paused as she realized now was the time to tell Chris something equally as important as her job.

She took a deep breath and then laid her heart on the line. "Chris, I want to try us out," she said. Her voice had lost some of its bubbliness of a few seconds prior and a sense of anxiety had taken its place. "We both know the riskiness of it was what was holding me back, but I think it's worth it."

"Try us out as in date?" he asked, to make sure he was following the sudden change in conversation.

"Yes." She felt like her heart was going to explode as she waited for him to tell her that he still wanted to try. If he said he didn't, though, she wasn't sure what she would do.

"Are you sure?" he asked, cautiously. "You're really sure?"

"I've been sure for about a month," she admitted as she nervously picked at a dent in the steering wheel. "I was just waiting for the right moment to tell you." Recalling the conversation with her sisters the other day, she cleared her throat and added, "Chris, if me taking too long led to -"

"No, I haven't been with anyone else nor have I even wanted to be," Chris interrupted her. "That is where you were going with that, right?"

"Yes," she admitted, feeling relieved. "Really?"

"Really," he confirmed.

"So you still want to, too?" she asked, she felt silly for asking, but she wanted to know for sure.

"Yeah, I still do," Chris assured her before attempting to ease the tension with a joke. "And not just because I don't have to deal with LA traffic to pick you up for a date." To his relief, she laughed and he couldn't help but laugh, too. "So, out of curiosity, why did you wait so long to tell me?"

"It sounds silly now, but I didn't want to make it harder since we're on opposite sides of the continent," Ellie explained.

"I will resist the urge to make a joke about it being hard," Chris snickered with a hint of cockiness in his voice.

"You didn't resist _too_ hard," Ellie pointed out with amusement. Now that they were on the same page, it was easier to be herself again without watching what she was saying.

"What can I say, it comes naturally to me," he played along. "Why fight what comes so easily."

"Hopefully not _too_ easily, that would be disappointing," Ellie teased before dissolving into a fit of giggles.

"I guess you'll have to wait and see what happens in two weeks," Chris stated.

"Wait. In two weeks?" Ellie asked, quickly sobering. "You're coming home?"

"We got scheduled for reshoots beginning in early January," Chris confirmed, appreciating the excitement that was in her voice at his news.

As Ellie was letting that information digest, Izzy's text alert sounded in her ear. "Suddenly, I can't wait for Christmas to be over," she told Chris, finally. "And I love Christmas."

He chuckled and said, "I find myself feeling the same way, all of a sudden."

Knowing her sister was waiting, Ellie said goodbye to Chris with regret and then made her way to the arrivals area. It took her a good twenty minutes to get to where Izzy was waiting and they didn't have time to do anything other than get Izzy and her luggage into the car before they had to move on. Which meant that Ellie had to wait until she was out of the airport area before she could find a place to pull over. By the time she did, she was practically bursting from all the pent-up excitement. She then spent the next twenty minutes telling Izzy everything that had happened while she was waiting for her.

She was still on cloud nine when they got back to their parents’ house and found out that a package had been delivered for her while they'd been gone. The package, which had been overnighted from Florida, was from Chris and contained a Donald Duck stuffed animal with a note.

_Ellie - Found this guy at Disney World and remembered you telling me how the Oregon Duck mascot was basically Donald Duck and, well, I knew you had to have him. Merry Christmas, Chris_

Ellie felt tears come to her eyes as she held the stuffed animal to her chest. She felt Izzy behind her and felt her sister squeeze her shoulder before heading into the kitchen. Instead of following, Ellie took the present up to her room and placed it on her bed. She took a picture of it and sent it to Chris with a 'thank you' and 'I love it'.

When she finally made her way downstairs, she was surprised to find her family waiting for her with glasses of champagne and sparkling cider for the kids. Izzy handed her a glass and said, "I told them you had exciting news and that a toast was in order."

Ellie shared her news with her family and laughed as they showered her with exclamations and excitement. After they sipped their celebratory drinks, they shifted gears to their usual Christmas Eve festivities: watching Christmas movies and playing board games while munching on snacks. Followed by present opening since Sydney, Garrett and their two kids would be there in the morning for stockings before spending the rest of the day with Garrett's parents and siblings.

As she went to bed that night, with Donald Duck tucked in beside her, she couldn't help but think of the future. Per tradition, she and her family would head to the coast for the final week of the year, where they would ring in 2014 with four generations on the family compound of beach houses. Then she would return to LA and Chris would be there or get there shortly after her… and then… well, they'd be together and kicking off what had the potential of being an amazing year.


	24. Episode 14.5: Read 'em and Weep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This half episode is just a little fun between Chris and Ellie and takes place in January 2016.

_January 2016_

"Read 'em and weep, boys," Chris gloated as he laid his cards down on the table, revealing a full house.

The other five guys at the table, including his brother, groaned as Chris pulled his winnings from the center of the table towards himself. He'd won a majority of the rounds that night and they all knew he wouldn't let them forget anytime soon.

"Well I'm out of money," Bryant Gomez stated as he pushed his chair back. They'd each come with twenty dollars in change (nickels, dimes and quarters) and, while the others had won at least one round, he hadn't won anything. "Guess I'll head home and let the babysitter go early."

Chris, Scott and the other three said goodbye to Bryant, each giving him a bro hug, before he made his way to the front door. From the dining room where they were playing, they heard him say something to someone, followed by the closing of the front door.

A click clack of heels on the wood floor alerted them to the fact that Ellie had returned from her girls' night. "Hey boys," she greeted from the doorway. "Enjoying yourselves?"

"I'm having a great time," Chris smirked as he got up to give her a kiss.

From his seat, Scott watched the two interact and then an idea hit him as Chris made his way back to his seat. "Hey, El, you should play with us," he suggested. The last time he'd played poker with Ellie was when she and his brother hadn't been talking and she had kicked his ass.

"Oh, no, that's ok," Ellie replied, waving off the offer. "Don't want to intrude."

"You wouldn't be," Brock Alexander assured her. "Actually, with you here distracting Chris, maybe one of us will get the chance to win."

"I bet Chris would even give up some of his winnings for you to buy in," Chucky Kelley said, hiding a smile behind his beer bottle.

"So, what do you say, Chris, you going to let your lady play with us?" Ray Locke asked.

"Uh, sure, if she wants to," Chris replied, looking up at her. "Do you?"

Ellie looked at the five faces unsure of how to answer, but then she saw the very slight nod of Scott's head and a very brief look of pain on his face. Cocking an eyebrow, she slipped her purse from her shoulder and tossed it onto the sideboard. "Well, if you guys want me to then I guess deal me in," she replied. "Let me grab something to drink and I'll be ready."

Going into the kitchen, she wasn't surprised at all when Scott followed her. "He's being a bad winner again?" she assumed, pulling out a bottle of water for herself and a new beer for Scott.

"He's insufferable," Scott groaned as he used a bottle opener to pull the lid off. "Hope you're ready to kick his ass."

"Oh, I'm always ready to do that," she stated with a laugh. "Let's do this, shall we?"

An hour later, it was just herself, Chris and Scott sitting at the table still playing. Chris's other friends had left either due to being out of money or because their wives, who Ellie had been out with, had called to find out when they would be home. Chris had still won some of the rounds, but Ellie, or one of the others, had won more.

"Well shit," Scott muttered when he too ran out of money and had to watch Chris collect his winnings. "Guess I'll head out, too."

After he collected his stuff, Chris and Ellie walked him to the front door where he gave them both a hug and kissed Ellie's cheek. "Kick his ass," he whispered, making her laugh.

"What did he say to you?" Chris asked after closing the door behind his brother.

"He told me to kick your ass," Ellie said with a smirk as she headed back to the dining room. "Fancy another round?" she called over her shoulder.

"Only if we raise the stakes," Chris told her.

"In what way?" she asked, turning to look at him with her eyebrows raised in interest.

"No money. Just clothes," he stated. Then, being a gentleman, he offered, "I'll even take off my shoes so we start evenly,"

"Alright," Ellie agreed. Then she sassed, "I hope you're ready to get naked," as she sat down in a chair across from the one he'd been sitting in.

"Oh, I plan on getting naked, but only after you," he shot back. "My ma raised me to be gentleman. Ladies first, _always_."

"Bring it on," Ellie stated as he took his seat. "You deal first."

They split the first four rounds, both choosing to remove their socks, but then choosing other things to remove. Chris removed his flannel shirt while Ellie opted to remove her pants. Chris won the round after that and whistled when Ellie took of her shirt, revealing a strapless black bra that matched her black panties.

"Enjoy it while you can," she snapped as she sat back down. "My deal."

"You might as well give up now," Chris said, cockily. "You're going to lose, it's inevitable."

Except, it was Chris that lost the next hand and the hand after that. Leaving him in just his black, boxer briefs and secretly glad he hadn't decided to freeball it that day.

"I'm not going to lose this," he stated as she smiled smugly across the table from him as he dealt the next hand. "You'll be the one naked in two hands."

Putting the deck down, he picked up his cards and internally groaned when he saw that it was complete shit. With his face trained on his cards, he chanced a sidelong glance at Ellie to see if he could tell from her face what her hand was like and regretted it immediately. He could tell from the way she was biting into her lower lip that she was trying to force back a smile.

With a silent prayer, he squared his shoulders and started the round, knowing he was likely going to be the first one naked. Ellie discarded one card and seemed happy, unfortunate for him, with the exchange. Based on her demeanor, he took a desperate chance and threw out three of his cards, only holding on to the two cards that were in the same suit. It didn't pay off and he ended up with lower cards that he'd started with.

"Fuck," he muttered and tossed his cards onto the table. "I know you won, just show me what you had."

A wide smile broke across Ellie's face as she placed her cards on the table, revealing a pair of fours with three shit cards.

"What the fuck?!" Chris exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He gestured to the cards and waved his arms in complete disbelief as Ellie laughed hysterically. "You fucking punked me!!"

"Doesn't matter how you win as long as you win," Ellie snickered. "Now take 'em off, big boy."

"This is complete bullshit," Chris glared at her as his fingers found the waistband of his boxers. "I'm doing this, but it's under protest."

Ellie rolled her eyes at his words but let out a catcall when he pushed his boxers down. Her cheers were quickly followed by boos when he used one of his hands to hide the part of his anatomy she wanted to see the most. "Hey! Move your hand, you're cheating," she complained.

"The deal was to get naked, that doesn't mean I have to give you a show," Chris retorted as he stepped out of his boxers once they hit the floor. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Ellie watched in partial shock and partial amusement as he left the dining room with one hand covering his front and the other his back. Curious as to where he was going, she followed him into the kitchen and screamed when he grabbed her as she walked into the room.

"I might be the naked one, but we're both going for a swim," he told her as he lifted her off her feet and carried her towards the backdoor.

"Wait! Let me take off my jewelry," Ellie said, grabbing the edge of the island as they passed.

Chris obliged, only because he knew that she was wearing jewelry passed down from her grandmother, and set her down, but kept himself positioned at her side so she couldn't get away. As he waited, his eyes landed on the hooks that held her bra in place. Without a second's hesitation, he unhooked the bra with a flick of his wrist and grinned when she laughed.

"Damnit, Chris," she said, shaking her head as the bra dropped to the floor.

"Come on," he said, cajolingly. "The pool will be way more fun if we're both naked." His fingers slid down her body to the waistband of her panties. He rested them there, waiting for her ok to proceed. "Come on, Ellie."

"Fine," she caved and squealed when he yanked the panties down her legs as he did a quick squat.

"Step out and let's go," he ordered.

Ellie obeyed and then found his hand, squeezing it to say she was ready. They made their way out to the pool area, choosing not to turn on the outdoor lights, and soon were standing at the edge of the heated pool, illuminated by lights in the walls.

"You ready?" Chris asked, glancing down at her.

"Ready," Ellie nodded.

Chris counted to three and then they jumped, hands locked together as they hit the water.

**Author's Note:**

> You can view the [timeline](https://theycallmebecca.wordpress.com/chris-ellie-series/chris-ellie-timeline/) for Chris & Ellie's story on my wordpress blog.


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